VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 


BY 


CAPT.    P.   STRICKLAND. 


BOSTON : 

A.  WILLIAMS    &    COMPANY. 
1873- 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 

A.   WILLIAMS  &  CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


BOSTON  S 
STEREOTYPED  AND  PRINTED   BY  RAND,   AVKRY,   A   CO. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE. 

The  Wonders  and  Uses  of  the  Ocean.  —  Remarks  on  Ships  and 
Seamen.  —  Camel  the  Type  of  Commerce  in  Ancient  Times. 

—  A  Ship  the   Type  of  Modern  Commerce.  —  Comparison 
between  Ancient  and  Modern  Maritime  Commerce.  —  Piracy 
linked  with  Commerce  Two  Centuries  ago.  —  Agriculture  the 
True  Basis  of  Commerce.  —  Commerce  the   Handmaid  of 
Peace  and   Civilization.  — » Some  assist    Benevolent    Enter- 
prises from  Unworthy  Motives.  —  The  Light  of  Truth  pro  - 
gressive.  —  She  must  now  let  it  shine  upon  Seamen        .        .       13 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Arrival  of  an  East-Indiaman.  —  Seamen's  Wardrobes.  — 
Behavior  of  Runners.  —  Man  craves  Female  Society.  —  The 
Laborer  can  have  a  Wife  and  Children.  —  Seamen's  Board- 
ing-Houses  and  Landlords.  —  Clothing-Stores.  —  Meal  Times. 

—  Waiting-Maids  in    Seamen's  Boarding-Houses  generally 
Girls  of  Loose  Character.  —  Their  Evil  Influence  on  Seamen. 

—  Origin  of  Runners  and  the  most  debased  among  Prostitutes. 

—  How  the  Sailor  gets  rid  of  his  Money.  —  Seamen  can  sel- 
dom leave  their  Boarding-Houses  without  Advanced  Wages. 

—  They  frequently  go  to  Sea  more  or  less   intoxicated.  — 
Serious  Troubles  often  result  from  their  Bad  Behavior  when 
partially  Drunk.  —  Venereal  Diseases  often  contracted  while 
on  Shore.  —  They  cause  the  Most  Intense  Bodily  and  Mental 
Suffering.  —  How  treated.  —  Influences  on  Board  of  Ships 
generally  more  for  Evil  than  for  Good.  —  Pernicious  Read- 

3 


CONTENTS. 

ing-Matter  one  Fruitful  Source  of  Iniquity.  —  The  most  Shame- 
less and  Heartless  Tyranny  frequently  practised  by  Officers 
in  dealing  with  Seamen. —  Its  Pernicious  Results.  —  The  !'.•  -t 
Seamen  avoid  Large  Ships  and  Long  Voyages.  —  The  Shame- 
less Conduct  of  Sea-Lawyers.  —  They  must  be  dealt  with 
severely. — Rascally  and  Hypocritical  Conduct  of  the  Honora- 
ble Ship-Master  —  Foreign  Consuls  and  Tailors.  —  Seamen 
not  naturally  Viler  than  other  Men  .  .  k  .  .  .25 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Accommodations  for  Seamen  on  Shipboard.  —  Evil  of  hav- 
ing Double  Berths.  —  Swinish  Method  of  Eating.  —  Quality 
of  Provisions.  —  Method  of  Cooking.  —  Deficiency  of  Fresh 
Water.  —  Religion  must  be  Tangible  to  benefit  the  Sailor. — 
Board  ing- Houses  and  Landlords.  —  They  are  not  the  Primary 
Cause  of  the  Sailor's  Degradation  and  Misery.  —  Sailors' 
Homes.  —  Shipping-Agents.  —  Foreign  Consuls.  —  Ship- 
Owners.  —  The  Happy  Effects  of  Marriage  among  Officers.  — 
Tyrants  and  Tyrannical  Measures.  —  Seafaring  Men  not  no- 
ticed by  the  Government.  —  Bad  Effects  of  some  of  the  Pres- 
ent Custom-House  Regulations.  —  Summing  up  of  the  Sail- 
ors' Miseries.  —  Rule  to  prevent  the  Social  Evil.  —  The  Rights 
of  Women.  —  Sailors  are  in  a  Pitiable  Condition,  and  need 
Help 50 


CHAPTER  lU. 

The  Efforts  of  Benevolent  Societies  to  benefit  Seamen.  — The  Sea- 
men's Friend  Society.  —  A  Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Labors  of 
Father  Taylor.  —  A  Short  Account  of  Father  Stowe  and 
Others.  —  The  Mariners'  House  in  Boston.  —  Sailors'  Homes. 

—  The  Difficulties  which  beset  Bethel  Ministers  and  Missiona- 
ries.—Obstacles  in  the   Way  of  Sailors  who  are  trying  to 
reform  their  Lives.  —  Encouragements  for  Bethel  Ministers. 

—  The  Great  Value  of  Libraries.  —  The  Effect  which  Good 
Books  sometimes  have  upon  Seamen.  —  Captains'  Wives  and 
their  Children.  —  The  Efforts  of  Benevolent  Societies   inef- 
fectual to  reclaim  the  Seaman's  Profession  from  Dishonor     .      88 


CONTENTS.  0 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Effects  of  Early  Instruction.  —  Bethel  Influences  scarcely 
reach  the  Mass  of  Seamen.  —  The  Tendency  of  Religious  and 
Well-behaved  Seamen  to  avoid  Large  Ships  and  Long  Voyages. 

—  Sailors  need  Female  Society.  —  They  do   not   prefer  the 
Company  of  Abandoned  Women.  —  Comparison  between  the 
lives  of  Seamen  and  Clergymen.  —  The  Potency  of  Marriage 
to  sanctify  the  Heart.  —  Good  People  in  Society  indebted  to 
Means  of  Grace  furnished  them  by  Others  for  the  Loveliness 
of  their  Characters.  —  The  Evil  Influences  to  which  Seamen 
are  exposed  must  be  removed.  —  Christian  Sailors  generally 
marry  and  quit  a  Seafaring  Life,  and  Society  suffers  on  that 
Account.  —  The  Highest  Motives   not  generally  Efficacious 
at  first  in  leading  Sinners  to  Repentance.  —  Erroneous   No- 
tions concerning   Heaven. — Heaven   a  State  of  Bliss  rather 
than  a  Place  of  Fancy.  —  Sailors  must  be  saved  by  Human 
Agencv.  —  The  Wages  of  Seamen,  and  Reasons  why  they  are 

.so  Low.  —  Commerce  should  be  the  Sailor's  Nurse,  and  not 
Freight.  —  The  Slave-Trade  still  carried  on  among  Seamen. 

—  The  Benevolent  Contracts  of  Landlords  in  Favor  of  Sea- 
men are  not  productive  of  much  Good.  —  Seamen  must  be 
saved  from  Physical,  Moral,  and  Spiritual  Shipwreck     .         .     105 

CHAPTER  V. 

Conclusions  deduced  from  a  Retrospective  View  of  the  Circum- 
stances and  Condition  of  Seamen.  —  The  Nation  must  provide 
Remedies  for  the  Wrongs  of  Seamen.  —  She  must  adopt  them 
as  her  Wards.  —  A  Financial  View  of  Their  Prospective  Situa- 
tion. —  What  such  a  Measure  would  do  for  the  Abandoned 
Woman. —  No  Class  of  Men  can  keep  Virtuous  without  Female 
Society.  —  A  Project  for  providing  Seamen  with  Homes.  — 
How  Seamen's  Clothing  should  be  kept  in  Order.  —  The  End 
of  Seamen's  Boarding-Houses  and  Sharkish  Landlords.  — 
Seamen  should  have  Newspapers  devoted  to  their  Interests.  — 
Remarks  concerning  our  Commerce.  —  Seamen  should  live 
by  Commerce  the  same  as  the  Artisan  lives  by  his  Trade.  — 
They  should  have  the  Commonest  Blessings  of  Life  secured  to 
them  by  Society,  if  nothing  more 132 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Seamen's  Miseries  not  so  much  due  to  Defective  Legislation  as  to 
other  Causes.  —  A  Few  Extra  Laws  may  eventually  be  needed 
to  protect  both  Ship-Masters  and  Seamen.  —  Litigation  among 
Seamen  should  be  discouraged  as  much  as  possible.  —  Pecu- 
niary Assistance  from  the  Government  would  solve  most  Nau- 
tical Problems.  —  How  Sailors  might  be  prevented  from 
Smuggling.  —  Seamen,  even  if  assisted  by  the  Government, 
should  receive  from  their  Fellow-Men  more  than  an  Ordinary 
Share  of  Regard  and  Consideration.  — Very  Exemplary  Be- 
havior should  not  be  expected  from  them  at  first.  —  The 
Wages  of  Officers.  —  Seamen  more  worthy  of  Help  than  In- 
dians.—  Sailors  ignorant  of  Politics.  —  Patriotism  .  .151 

CHAPTER  VH 

Mammon  should  not  be  allowed  to  supersede  Justice  in  National 
Affairs.  —  The  Devotees  of  Fashion  miserably  defrauded  and 
perpetually  deceived.  —  It  is  expected  that  any  Monetary 
Project  to  assist  Seamen  will  be  sharply  criticised.  —  Their 
Case  needs  Investigation. — Nations  would  sooner  spend 
Billions  in  settling  big  Indian  Disputes  than  use  a  Dollar  to 
befriend  Mercy  and  Goodness.  —  The  Church  of  Christ  now 
a  Power  in  the  Land.  —  All  Denominations  of  Christians 
must  unite  their  Efforts  to  bless  the  Sailor.  —  Worldly  Wis- 
dom cannot  grasp  Common  Sense.  —  Hope  for  Abandoned 
Females.  —  Seaman's  Cause  will  eventually  triumph  .  ,  168 


PEEFATOEY  EEMAEKS. 


THE  author  of  this  little  volume  has  been  a  sailor  for 
nearly  twenty  years.  He  has,  in  that  time,  served  in 
nearly  every  capacity  on  hoard  of  a  merchant-ship.  It 
cannot  he  urged,  therefore,  that  the  inexperience  of  the 
writer  disqualifies  him  from  making  an  accurate  estimate 
of  the  evils  which  exist  among  a  class  of  men  with  whom 
he  has  spent  nearly  two-thirds  of  his  life. 

The  suhject  of  this  work  has  engaged  my  attention,  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  ever  since  I  became  cognizant  of 
the  miserable  condition  of  seamen.  It  never  occurred  to 
me,  however,  that  I  could  ever  do  much  to  effect  a  change 
for  the  better.  I  thought,  with  many  others  perhaps,  that 
the  most  of  a  sailor's  woes  were  due  to  his  own  depravity ; 
and  that,  when  the  genial  influences  of  the  Christian 
religion  should  become  more  widely  diffused,  the  hardened 
mariner,  as  well  as  others,  would  eventually  be  subdued 
and  saved  by  the  matchless  power  of  grace.  I  thought  my 
duty  would  be  done  in  the  matter,  if  I  used  diligently  my 
best  endeavors  to  reclaim  individuals.  As  to  influencing 

7 


8  PREFATORY  REMARKS. 

the  masses,  I  thought  that  that  was  the  business  of  those 
who  are  specially  set  apart  by  the  Church  "  to  go  into  all 
the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 

Time  and  observation  at  length  wrought  a  change  in 
my  views.  I  saw  that  the  majority  of  seamen  had  no 
heart  for  religion.  If,  here  and  there,  one  could  be  im- 
proved, I  noticed,  that,  in  most  instances,  he  would  soon 
abandon  a  seafaring  life,  and  seek  for  other  means  to  gain 
a  livelihood.  I  found  that  there  was  something  in  the  con- 
dition and  circumstances  of  the  sailor  that  pre-occupied  his 
mind,  and  prevented  him  from  being  acted  upon  by  moral 
and  spiritual  motives  with  any  great  degree  of  efficacy. 

When  I  first  took  charge  of  a  vessel,  I  felt  my  respon- 
sibility to  seamen  keenly.  I  do  not  think  my  owners' 
interests  lay  much  nearer  my  heart.  It  caused  me  so  far 
to  overcome  my  natural  reserve  and  diffidence,  that  I 
immediately  resolved  to  hold  divine  services  every  sabbath 
on  board  of  any  vessel  that  it  might  fall  to  my  lot  to 
command;  and  I  have  never  yet  seen  occasion  to  regret 
my  decision. 

The  men  would  generally  all  attend,  and  conduct  them- 
selves in  a  becoming  manner.  They  would  also  behave 
much  better  during  the  voyage  than  if  no  such  services 
had  been  held.  Those  circumstances  seemed  encouraging  ; 
but  I  quickly  saw  that  there  was  a  limit  to  a  shipmaster's 
usefulness,  far  more  circumscribed  than  I  had  any  idea  of 
when  I  began.  I  found  that  (in  the  case  of  sailors  at 
least)  many  of  the  steps  were  gone  from  the  ladder  which 


PREFATORY  REMARKS.  9 

Jacob  saw  reaching  from  earth  *to  heaven  ;  and,  unless 
they  were  replaced,  seamen  could  not  ascend.  Unless 
the  disabilities  of  sailors  were  first  removed,  all  efforts  to 
reclaim  them  must  be  about  as  futile  as  the  attempts  of 
Sisyphus  of  old  to  roll  his  stone. 

This  discovery  induced  me  to  examine  the  subject 
closely,  to  see  if  any  way  could  be  devised  that  would  be 
likely  to  lead  out  of  such  a  labyrinth  of  difficulties ;  and 
the  results  of  my  researches  and  investigations  may  be 
found  by  perusing  the  following  pages. 

When  I  thought  that  I  had  divined  the  cause  of,  and  cure 
for,  most  of  the  special  ills  which  beset  seamen,  I  met 
with  other  difficulties,  which,  for  a  little  time,  almost 
threatened  to  make  me  despair  of  ever  being  able  to  do 
any  thing  for  the  sailor.  In  the  first  place,  I  was 
frightened  at  the  magnitude  of  the  remedies  which  had 
commended  themselves  to  my  careful  judgment.  I  could 
not  help  thinking  that  our  tax-burdened  people  would  be 
almost  ready  to(  stone  any  one  who  should  have  the  temerity 
to  propose  a  further  increase  of  taxes.  Whether  I  was 
right  or  not,  time  will  determine  ;  but,  if  the  stoning  time 
ever  does  arrive,  I  shall  console  myself  with  the  reflection 
that  I  never  proposed  such  an  unpopular  remedy  for  the  ills 
of  seamen,  merely  to  serve  my  own  selfish  interests.  I, 
at  least,  must  bear  my  share  of  the  taxation. 

Another  serious  difficulty  now  presented  itself  for  my 
consideration.  I  had  no  means  of  gaining  the  public  ear. 
As  to  lecturing,  that  was  entirely  out  of  the  question  ;  for 


10  PREFATORY   REMARKS. 

I  had  never  yet  been  prevailed  upon  to  speak  a  dozen 
sentences  before  an  audience  on  any  one  subject  in  my 
life.  Writing  would  do  better,  for  me  at  least ;  but  then 
I  very  well  knew  that  my  seafaring  life  had  never  been 
favorable  for  developing  such  habits  of  thinking,  and 
modes  of  expression,  as  would  qualify  me  to  produce  any 
thing  like  a  perfect  literary  performance.  The  rules  of 
grammar  had  partially  fled  from  my  memory ;  and  I  had 
had  but  little  occasion  to  submit  my  mind  to  the  vigorous 
discipline  which  is  so  essential  to  give  even  genius  any 
well-grounded  hopes  of  achieving  success  as  an  author. 

No  one,  therefore,  need  expect  to  have  his  fancy  tickled 
by  the  productions  of  a  man  who  knows  more  about  box- 
hauling  a  ship  than  he  does  of  the  rules  of  syntax. 
People  should  reflect  that  Nature  does  not  often  combine 
the  fleetness  of  the  greyhound  with  the  strength  of  the 
buffalo.  If  I  had  spent  my  youth  in  schools  and  colleges, 
I  might  have  missed  that  experience  which  no  amount 
of  book-learning  could  compensate  for,  or  the  greatest  skill 
in  debate  supply. 

If  there  are  those,  however,  who  shall  choose  to  criticise 
this  work,  all  I  have  to  say  is,  they  are  entirely  welcome 
to  do  so.  If  the  style  should  not  suit  them,  or  if  there 
should  be  found  any  violation  of  the  established  rules  of 
grammar,  it  would  be  a  benefit  to  me  to  have  all  mistakes 
brought  to  my  notice.  If  the  sentiments  are  adjudged 
faulty,  I  should  like  to  hear  all  the  objections  that  can  be 
offered ;  for  I  think  all  the  subject  needs  is  ventilation.  If 


PREFATORY  REMARKS.  11 

I  have  made  any  mistakes  in  judgment  with  regard  to 
ways  and  means,  I  should  like  to  be  apprised  of  my  errors, 
and  set  right.  If  any  one  knows  of  a  more  excellent  plan, 
I  should  really  like  to  hear  of  it ;  and  perhaps  some  of  my 
readers  may  be  able  to  furnish  suggestions  bearing  on  this 
subject  that  would  be  invaluable.  Perhaps  some  one  can 
devise  a  plan  that  would  be  more  feasible  than  mine.  All 
are  cordially  invited  to  give  their  views  on  this  highly 
important  and  deeply  interesting  subject ;  for  in  the 
"multitude  of  counsellors"  there  is  said  to  be  safety. 

If  any  uncharitable  persons  shall  choose  to  attack  my 
little  work  with  ridicule,  and  me  with  calumny,  I  shall  not 
have  much  confidence  in  their  honesty ;  but  still,  if  they 
are  able  to  advance  any  thing  that  will  throw  additional 
light  on  what  I  have  termed  the  seamen's  cause,  I  shall 
gladly  avail  myself  of  their  moonshine,  and  try  to  feel 
very  much  obliged  to  them.  The  children  of  the  Wicked 
One  have  done  many  a  good  turn  for  the  cause  of  truth, 
without,  perhaps,  intending  to  do  any  such  thing ;  and 
sometimes  they  have  accomplished  glorious  results  while 
taking  active  and  energetic  measures  to  stay  up  the  palsied 
hands  of  prejudice  and  ill-will. 

Whatever  different  conclusions  people  may  come  to  as 
to  what  ought  to  be  done  for  seamen,  they  should  always 
bear  in  mind  that  the  evils  enumerated  in  this  book 
actually  exist.  No  man  conversant  with  nautical  affairs 
can  honestly  deny  that  fact  without  doubting  the  evidence 
of  his  own  senses.  I  feel  that  my  duty  will  not  be  done 


12  PREFATORY   REMARKS. 

in  the  matter  until  I  have  laid  the  subject  before  the  pub- 
lic, and  perhaps  not  then.  Something  ought  to  be  done 
for  seamen,  and  something  must  be  done;  for  the  enemies 
of  the  sailor  are  not  idle.  Even  while  I  write,  the  sharks 
in  the  great  tide  of  destruction  are  devouring  thousands. 

For  the  further  consideration  of  all  uncharitable  critics 
that  may  be  allied  to  the  shark  family,  I  will  just  state 
that  the  following  pages  were  wholly  composed  at  sea, 
during  short  intermissions  from  the  active  duties  of  my 
station  ;  and  that  I  have  had  neither  friends  nor  libraries 
to  consult  while  attempting  to  draught  a  rude  sketch  of  the 
seamen's  cause.  This  explanation  must  also  answer  as 
an  apology  to  my  friends  for  not  exhibiting  detailed  statis- 
tical accounts  of  various  matters  connected  with  my  subject, 
which  might  greatly  interest  some  of  my  readers.  This 
work  was  ready  for  the  press  in  the  summer  of  1871,  and 
before  I  heard  of  the  new  shipping-laws.  As  they  can  only 
operate,  at  the  best,  to  slightly  mitigate  a  few  abuses 
which  exist  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  as 
they  are  otherwise  liable  to  very  grave  objections,  it  must 
be  obvious  to  every  one  who  reads  this  book  attentively, 
and  feels  convinced  that  its  statements  are  true,  that  it 
was  hardly  worth  the  while  of  Congress  to  enact  them. 
It  is  not  so  much  law  that  the  sailor  requires  as  justice. 

Then  let  our  virtuous  freemen  give 
Poor  outraged  seamen  means  to  live, 
And  find  them  cause,  without  delay, 
To  shout,  "  Long  live  America !  " 
Nov.  25,  1871. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  boundless  ocean,  which  covers  to  an  immense  depth 
more  than  two-thirds  of  the  surface  of  the  earth,  has  ever, 
and  justly,  been  considered  one  of  the  grandest  objects 
which  the  God  of  Nature  has  revealed  to  the  eye  of 
man.  When  we  look  away  at  the  distant  horizon,  and 
reflect,  that,  if  we  were  transported  thither,  we  should  be- 
hold, at  an  equally  removed  distance  from  us,  still  another 
seeming  boundary  between  sea  and  skies  traced  on  the 
heaving  bosom  of  the  vasty  deep ;  and  when  we  give  our 
full  and  undivided  attention  to  the  great  fact  revealed  to 
us  by  the  light  of  science,  that  we  might  go  on  changing 
our  position  with  the  same  results  until  time  with  us 
should  be  no  more,  -•—  we  can  then  conceive,  in  some  degree, 
with  what  propriety  this  great  and  mighty  expanse  of 
waters  has  been  called  the  image  of  eternity. 

Nor  is  it  the  magnitude  of  the  ocean  alone  that  excites 
our  wonder  and  admiration.  Terrific  storms  and  tempests 
often  rage  with  dreadful  fury  on  its  vast  plain  of  waters; 
and  at  such  times  the  grandeur  of  the  scene  exhibited  by 

13 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

the  wild  warring  of  the  elements  is  absolutely  beyond 
description.  Then,  truly,  the  deep  utters  his  voice,  and 
lifts  up  his  hands  on  high.  Poor  pygmy  man  is  then 
and  there  compelled  to  acknowledge  his  insignificance ;  and 
the  boasting,  would-be  atheist  is  made  painfully  conscious 
that  there  is  a  God. 

The  ocean  has  been  described  as  being  a  waste  of 
waters ;  but  that  is  not  true  in  every  sense,  for  in  more 
ways  than  one  it  is  necessary  to  our  very  existence.  The 
vapor  which  rises  from  its  surface,  condensed  into  clouds, 
and  carried  about  by  winds,  descends  again  in  refreshing 
showers  upon  the  mountains  and  hills  and  plains,  giving 
fertility  to  lands  which  would  otherwise  be  barren  wastes. 
Nor  is  this  all ;  for,  after  serving  a  great  variety  of  useful 
purposes,  these  gathering  waters  unite  again  in  forming 
springs,  brooks,  creeks,  and  rivers,  which,  besides  turning 
mills,  and  furnishing  thousands  of  miles  of  navigable 
water,  also  constitute  the  natural  drainage  of  continents, 
carrying  out  into  the  sea,  and  mingling  with  its  waters, 
millions  of  tons  of  organic  and  inorganic  matter,  which  are 
carried  about  by  marine  currents,  and  slowly  deposited,  to 
form  future  continents,  when  some  great  geological  change 
shall  cause  the  present  bed  of  the  sea  to  become  dry  land. 

The  ocean  is  also  the  abode  of  myriads  of  fishes,  which 
are  excellent  for  food;  and  their  capture  affords  employ- 
ment to  thousands  of  people,  and  is  an  important  source 
of  wealth  to  mankind. 

One  of  the  most  important  purposes  which   it  serves, 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

however,  in  connection  with  the  welfare  of  the  human 
race,  is  in  affording  a  natural  highway  for  commerce  to 
transport  her  goods,  and  for  travellers  to  visit  all  parts  of 
the  earth.  It  is  a  road  that  needs  no  repairs.  No  amount 
of  travel  can  injure  it  in  the  least  degree.  In  a  very  few 
minutes  after  the  passage  of  a  vessel  over  a  wave,  not  a 
trace  of  her  track  remains  to  he  seen. 

A  nohle  ship  gliding  safely  over  the  ever  restless  deep, 
with  "  every  thing  set,"  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
objects  of  man's  skill  and  enterprise  that  we  can  possibly 
contemplate.  Almost  every  thing  about  her  seems  to  be 
a  mystery.  Although  all  of  her  movements  and  evolutions 
can  be  accounted  for  on  mechanical  principles,  yet  such 
is  the  complexity  of  the  operations  made  use  of  in  directing 
a  ship  on  her  course,  that  she  has  not  been  inaptly  termed 
"  a  thing  of  life." 

To  navigate  the  vast  multitude  of  vessels  which  carry 
on  the  commerce  of  the  world  requires  the  lifelong  services 
of  millions  of  human  beings,  who  are  denominated,  as  a 
class,  sailors,  mariners,  or  seamen.  It  is  of  the  physical, 
moral,  and  spiritual  character  and  condition  of  this  very 
important  body  of  men,  that  we  propose  to  treat  in  the 
following  work. 

It  has  been  said  that  ships  carry  on  the  commerce  of 
the  world:  but  perhaps  that  statement  requires  some 
qualification  ;  for  a  vast  amount  of  the  carrying-trade  is 
performed  by  railroads  and  other  modes  of  conveyance  on 
the  land.  In  many  semi-civilized  and  barbarous  countries 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

the  camel  is  made  use  of  to  exchange  the  productions  of 
one  country  for  those  of  another ;  and  even  smaller  quad- 
rupeds, such  as  the  mule  and  llama,  are  held  in  requisition 
for  the  same  purpose  in  mountainous  districts,  where  trans- 
portation cannot  he  effected  very  well  in  any  other  way. 

It  is  nevertheless  a  fact,  however,  that  a  ship  is  the  true 
type  of  the  commerce  of  the  present  day ;  and,  whenever 
we  hear  the  subject  mentioned  in  our  presence,  we  almost 
involuntarily  picture  to  ourselves  anchors,  chains,  cordage, 
blocks,  quadrants,  and  the  mariner's  compass:  in  fact,  all 
the  paraphernalia  of  navigation  seem  to  be  inseparably 
connected  with  a  true  idea  of  commerce. 

In  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  however,  this  great 
department  of  industry  was  mostly  confined  to  the  land  ; 
and  that  "  ship  of  the  desert,"  the  camel,  figured  conspic- 
uously as  the  type  of  commerce  in  those  days.  The  art 
of  navigation  was  then  but  very  imperfectly  understood ; 
and  that,  as  well  as  other  things,  had  a  tendency  to 
confine  maritime  commerce  principally  to  the  shores  of 
the  inland  seas  of  Europe,  and  the  south-western  parts  of 
Asia.  The  mariner's  compass  had  not  then  been  in- 
vented ;  and  the  science  of  astronomy  was  not  yet  suffi- 
ciently developed  to  enable  mariners  to  avail  themselves  of 
its  principles  in  tracking  their  courses  over  the  unknown 
regions  of  the  pathless  deep  that  lay  beyond  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules. 

The  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  had  fleets  of  small 
vessels;  and  some  of  the  other  nations  bordering  on  the 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

Mediterranean  carried  on,  at  times,  quite  a  brisk  trade  with 
each  other ;  but,  when  compared  with  the  gigantic  mercan- 
tile enterprises  of  the  present  day,  their  little  traffic  sinks 
into  insignificance,  and  seems  to  be  hardly  worth  mention- 
ing. Probably  the  whole  commerce  of  the  Mediterranean 
in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar  did  not  exceed  in  pecuniary 
value  that  of  Lake  Michigan  in  1870. 

It  was  not  until  the  time  of  Columbus,  Diaz,  Cabot,  and 
De  Gama,  that  the  ocean  began  to  assume  its  true  place 
as  the  highway  of  the  nations.  Even  then,  and  for  two 
centuries  later,  there  was  but  very  little  legitimate  com- 
merce. Cargoes  were  principally  obtained  by  fraud, 
robbery,  pillage,  and  almost  every  species  of  outrage  and 
violence.  '  The  bold  and  restless  spirits  who  were  exploring 
every  coast,  and  ascending  every  river,  in  their  eager 
search  for  gold,  hesitated  not  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  the 
blood  of  their  fellow-men,  nor  to  have  recourse  to  any  other 
expedient  by  which  they  could  effect  their  much-desired 
object.  With  but  very  few  exceptions  indeed,  the  mass 
of  them  were  about  on  a  par  with  the  Algerines ;  and  here 
and  there  could  be  found  one  who  performed  deeds  worthy 
of  Tamerlane  or  Ghengis-Khan. 

Time,  and  the  progress  of  true  civilization,  at  length 
inaugurated  a  better  state  of  things.  The  seekers  after 
gold  met  with  too  many  misfortunes,  and  had  too  much 
competition  in  their  business,  to  allow  it  to  pay  well ;  and 
it  was  at  length  found  that  the  greatest  good  would  accrue 
to  the  greatest  number  by  colonizing  the  newly-discovered 
2* 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

countries,  with  a  view  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  as  the 
principal  and  true  basis  of  a  legitimate  commerce. 

The  result  has  been  a  most  rapid  development  of 
friendly  feelings  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The 
principles  which  ought  to  govern  trade  have  been  carefully 
studied,  and  systems  of  banking  and  insurance  have  grown 
into  existence,  which  are  world- wide  in  their  application; 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  this  improved  state  of  things 
has  done  more  to  keep  the  peace,  and  bind  the  nations 
together,  than  all  other  agencies  combined,  excepting, 
perhaps,  the  influence  of  the  Christian  religion. 

Wars  are  growing  unpopular,  and  becoming  less  frequent. 
The  nations  are  beginning  to  find  that  they  are  as 
necessary  to  each  other's  welfare  as  the  various  trades  and 
professions  are  to  each  other  in  the  division  of  labor. 
What  could  the  carpenter  do  without  the  blacksmith,  the 
shoemaker,  and  the  grocer?  And  how  could  the  world 
afford  to  dispense  with  the  tropical  productions  of  Brazil 
and  the  West  Indies,  the  grain  and  cotton  crops  of  the 
United  States,  the  manufactures  of  England  and  Conti- 
nental Europe,  and  the  literature  of  Scotland  ? 

The  tendencies  of  legitimate  commerce  and  true  religion 
are  ever  towards  peace  and  brotherhood.  Unprincipled 
and  ambitious  men  have  succeeded  from  time  to  time  in 
plunging  the  nations  into  mortal  conflicts  with  each  other; 
but  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  that  they  do  not  meet  with  the 
encouragement  now  that  they  did  a  hundred  years  ago. 
A  great  general  who  has  been  a  scourge  to  his  own  and 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

to  every  other  country  is  now  seldom  revered  as  a  demi- 
god ;  and  even  those  successful  commanders  that  can  lay 
claim  to  purer  motives  and  better  intentions  are  obliged 
to  content  themselves  with  a  very  small  share  of  regard 
from  their  fellow-men  compared  with  what  they  once 
received.  It  is  probable  now  that  Humboldt  is  a  much 
dearer  name  to  the  world  at  large  than  Van  Moltke ;  and 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  can  certainly  bear  no  comparison  with 
Sir  Isaac  Newton. 

"  The  world  moves  "  said  Galileo  Galilei ;  not  only  the 
physical  world,  but  also  the  moral  and  spiritual.  There 
are  plenty  of  bears  now,  as  there  were  then ;  and  they  all 
declare  that  every  thing,  except  vice,  is  still  at  rest  or 
retrograding.  To  hear  them  talk  sometimes,  one  would 
be  almost  tempted  to  think  that  the  world  was  at  last 
perfectly  ripe  in  wickedness,  and  that  the  great  day  of 
wrath  must  be  close  at  hand.  Such  people  are  always 
prating  about  the  good  old  times  in  which  their  fathers 
lived,  when  virtue  reigned  supreme,  and  the  moral  atmos- 
phere was  so  pure  and  clear,  that  great  and  disinterested 
men  were  produced  almost  spontaneously.  They  seem  to 
forget  that  such  agencies  as  the  whipping-post  were  em- 
ployed in  those  days  to  effect  moral  reforms;  and  that 
about  one-half  of  the  precious  time  of  almost  every  public 
school-teacher  was  required  to  govern  his  refractory  pupils, 
and  to  bestow  upon  them  their  daily  dividends  of  castiga- 
tion. 

Yes,   the   world  moves,  and   forward   too,  or  else   the 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

prophecies  must  be  a  delusion.  More  than  two  thousand 
years  ago  the  prediction  was  made,  that  every  valley  should 
be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  be  made  low ; 
that  the  crooked  should  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough 
places  plain ;  and  that  the  glory  of  the  Lord  should  be 
revealed  so  that  all  flesh  should  see  it  together.  Those 
memorable  words,  which  were  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  the  prophet  Isainh,  are  being  fulfilled  to-day.  The 
agencies  for  good  are  unceasingly  at  work  on  every  hand ; 
and,  as  time  progresses,  the  means  of  grace  seem  to 
multiply  in  almost  a  geometrical  ratio.  The  centfal  idea 
contained  in  the  prophecy  is  becoming  popularized ;  and 
doubtless  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of  poor  deluded 
mortals,  are  rendering  very  efficient  aid  to  the  cause  of 
truth,  merely  because  it  is  fashionable  to  do  so.  Men, 
whose  actionsvin  private  and  even  in  public  life  demon- 
strate that  they  have  but  very  little  true  regard  for  the 
claims  of  Christianity,  will  often  give  large  sums  of  money 
to  advance  the  interests  of  that  kingdom  which  Christ 
came  upon  the  earth  to  establish ;  and  there  can  be  found 
ladies,  who  while  they  are  plying  their  needles  very 
industriously  at  sewing-circles  and  elsewhere,  to  aid  some 
benevolent  object,  will  at  the  same  time  be  using  their 
tongues  very  maliciously  in  discussing  the  demerits  and 
misfortunes  of  such  of  their  neighbors  as  happen  to  be 
absent. 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  enumerate  the  various  agencies 
which  are  being  employed  to  equalize  the  comforts,  and 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

the  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual  advantages  of  life.  The 
strong  protect  the  weak.  Labor  is  no  longer  the  slave 
of  capital.  The  churches  and  schools  are  open  to  all.  The 
children  of  the  poor  possess  almost  equal  educational 
advantages  with  those  of  the  rich  ;  and  organized  efforts 
are  being  almost  everywhere  put  forth  to  reclaim  every 
creature  unto  whom  Christ  has  commanded  his  loved  ones 
to  preach  the  gospel. 

As  the  primitive  forests  disappear  before  the  woodman's 
axe,  leaving  the  landscape  clear  for  the  bright  and  glorious 
sunlight  to  quicken  into  existence,  and  supply  nourishment 
to  beautiful  flowers,  fruitful  trees,  and  golden  grain,  so 
does  the  onward  march  of  civilisation  dissipate  the  dark 
clouds  of  error,  superstition,  and  bigotry,  which  have  so 
long  overspread  our  fair  world  like  a  funeral  pall ;  clearing 
the  horizon  for  the  Sun  of  righteousness  to  arise,  and  shed 
his  benignant  rays  of  heavenly  light  on  those  fields  which 
our  Saviour  has  declared  are  ripe  for  the  harvest,  and  ready 
to  be  cut  down. 

As  the  wild  beasts  of  prey  which  roam  forth  in  the 
woods  at  night,  in  quest  of  blood  and  carnage,  melt  away 
before  the  huntsman's  rifle,  so  do  the  sweet  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  truth  teach  mankind  to  conquer 
and  subdue  all  of  those  evil  appetites  and  passions 
which  have  so  often  been  the  means  of  bringing  such 
misery  and  wretchedness  upon  the  human  race  as  to 
cause  mercy  and  penitence  to  shed  floods  of  bitter  tears. 

There  is  a  bear  side  to  the  question,  however,  as  some 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  following  pages  will  abundantly  testify.  The  Ca- 
naanites  are  still  strong  in  their  holds;  and  there  yet 
remaineth  very  much  land  to  be  possessed.  The  sun  gilds 
the  top  of  Pisgah ;  and  a  few  bright  spirits  are  up  there, 
beholding  with  the  eye  of  faith  the  utmost  borders  of  the 
promised  land ;  but  the  mists  of  prejudice  and  error  still 
lie  in  the  valleys,  and  the  popular  mind  is  scarcely  yet 
able  to  divide  the  light  from  the  darkness.  It  cannot 
see  afar  off. 

Innumerable  evils  have  yet  a  very  strong  hold  upon 
society ;  and  the  "  broad  road "  to  destruction  is  still 
thronged  with  people  of  all  classes  and  conditions,  some  of 
whom  seem  emulous  to  excel  each  other  in  their  appreciation 
of  forbidden  pleasures,  and  the  transient  delights  of  sin. 
Much  of  the  fair  fruit  that  might  now  be  saved  if  Heaven's 
appointed  laborers  would  only  do  their  duty  is  also  left 
upon  the  ground  to  perish,  and  furnish  food  for  the  "  worm 
that  never  dies."  Truth  is  abroad,  however ;  and  but  few 
can  entirely  avoid  beholding  her  bright  and  steady  light. 
She  is  pointing  to  where  the  day  dawns,  and  the  shadows 
flee  away  upon  the  mountains.  Many  feel  interested  to 
make  their  way  thither,  so  that  they  can  behold  her 
beauty  by  the  sunlight. 

It  is  our  object  now  to  let  her  light  shine  upon  a  class  of 
men  who  have  hitherto  been  almost  neglected,  —  a  class 
of  men  that  the  world  could  not  do  very  well  without,  and 
who  are  suffering,  because  they  do  not  get  that  help  from 
the  world  which  is  their  due  for  its  extensive  obligations  to 
them. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

We  shall  now  attempt  to  exhibit  some  of  the  principal 
phases  of  their  condition  and  character,  and  point  out 
where,  in  our  judgment,  remedies  might  be  applied  to 
what  appear  to  be  flagrant  wrongs;  not  forgetting,  how- 
ever, to  mention  the  efforts  put  forth  by  some  benevolent 
societies  and  individuals  to  improve  the  moral  and  spirit- 
ual condition  of  seamen,  and  to  see  how  the  remedies 
which  we  shall  propose  bear  on  the  results  of  their  labors. 

With  this  explanation  of  our  intentions,  we  shall  pro- 
ceed at  once  towards  the  consummation  of  the  work  before 
us ;  and  we  hope  it  may  prove  profitable  and  interesting 
to  all  good  people  who  have  at  heart  the  welfare  of  their 
Master's  kingdom. 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    CIRCUMSTANCES,    CHARACTER,    AND    CONDITION    OF 
SEAMEN. 

1.  THE  arrival  of  a  large  ship  from  a  long  voyage,  in  one 
of  our  seaport  towns,  is  quite  a  novel  spectacle  to  behold. 
As  she  comes  slowly  to  the  wharf  in  tow  of  a  steamer,  a 
sight  of  the  hronzed  faces  and  weather-worn  hulks  of  the 
crew,  as  they  come  into  view  on  the  forecastle  and  other 
exposed   places  of  the   ship,  shows   most  conclusively,  that 
their  life  has  not  been  one  of  ease  and  pleasure,  but  of  toils, 
sufferings,  and  privations.     They  have  just  returned  from 
a  conflict  with  the  elements  ;  and  long  and  bitter  has  been 
the  struggle  in  which  they  have  finally  prevailed. 

2.  Their  scanty  wardrobes  —  composed  of  old  pea-jackets, 
canvas  pantaloons,   shrunk-up   flannels,  dilapidated    shoes, 
oiled  clothing,  and  sou'-westers,  all  saturated  with  salt,  and 
daubed  over  with  tar  and  grease  —  are  carefully  packed  in 
sundry  bags,  trunks,  and  chests,  awaiting  transportation  to 
the  different  boarding-places  where  these  friendless  sons  of 
Neptune  propose  to  recruit  their  wasted  energies,  and  pre- 
pare for  another  voyage. 

3  25 


26  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

3.  We  say  friendless ;  but  it  would  hardly  seem  so  at  the 
first  view,  for  certainly  they  receive  very  marked  attentions 
on  their  first  arrival  in  port.     There  are  always  a  large 
number  of  men,  called  in  nautical  parlance  "  runners,"  that 
usually  try  to  board  vessels  as  soon  as  they  arrive  in  the  har- 
bor; but,  if  they  are  then  refused  admission  on  board,  they 
will  greet  the  sailors  from  their  boats  alongside,  and  proffer 
their  services,  as  soon  as  they  can  be  made  available,  in  the 
most  friendly  manner.     These  generous  creatures  are  very 
particular  to  inquire  abr  ut  the  welfare  of  every  person  on 
board ;  and  they  usually  threaten  to  inflict  sundry  punish- 
ments upon  the  officers,  if  any  of  them  have  been  so  unfor- 
tunate as  to  offend  any  part  of  the  crew  during  the  voyage. 
They  promise  all  sorts  of  accommodations  in  the  different 
boarding-houses  which  they  represent ;    and  each  one  is 
ready  to  pledge  his  honor  that  whoever  goes  with  him  will 
be  sure  of  having  a  glorious  good  time,  and  be  well  cared 
for.     Unfortunately  the  countenances  and  actions  of  these 
men  usually  belie  their  professions  ;  for,  in  many  instances, 
their  faces  exhibit  a  number  of  frightful  scars  and  other 
marks  of   dishonor  which  they  have  received  from  their 
companions  in  drunken  brawls,  or  from  policemen  while 
perpetrating    deeds    of    darkness   that    Satan    might    be 
ashamed  of,  were  that  notorious  personage  capable  of  being 
acted  on  by  any  such  motive.* 

4.  These  felons  and  criminals  are   usually  denominated 
"  sharks "  by  the  sailors,  and  shovel-nosed  ones  at  that ; 
which  shows  that  their  true  character  is  not  unknown  to  the 
society  of  webfoots.     Sailors  dislike    them  a*  a  class,  but 

*  The  new  shipping-laws  prohibit  runners  from  boarding  vcraefe,  which  i»  a 
.rime  regulation  to  protect  officers  from  imposition ;  but  it  docs  not  prevent  sea- 
men from  eventually  falling  into  their  clutches.  They  can  still  greet  sailors  from 
•fleir  boats,  and  meet  them  lovingly  at  the  head  of  the  wharf,  luring  them  to  ruin 
4a  before. 


A   VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP.  27 

sometimes  affect  to  think  well  of  the  shark  that  is  attached 
to  their  own  boarding-house.  To  enumerate  the  crimes 
and  villanies  of  these  cormorants  would  be  too  great  a 
digression  from  our  main  object  in  this  place  ;  but,  as  we 
shall  hereafter  have  many  occasions  to  introduce  them 
again,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  main  features  of  their 
characters  will  be  sufficiently  delineated  to  indicate  the 
class  of  predaceous  animals  to  which  they  belong.  Sailors 
seem  to  think  that  they  are  allied  to  the  shark  family ;  and 
they  certainly  resemble  those  repulsive  creatures  in  many 
of  their  physical  and  in  most  of  their  moral  characteristics. 

5.  Having  now  given  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  char- 
acters of  the  men  that  greet  the  sailor  on  the  wharf,  when 
they  cannot  before,  it  must  now  suffice  to  state  that  their 
main  object  in  greeting  seamen  so  cordially  is  to  entice 
them  to  go^to  boarding-houses,  where  they  can  assist  their 
respective  landlords  and  others  to  deprive  the  hapless  mari- 
ners of  the  paltry  sums  of  money  which  may  be  due  them 
when  they  are  paid  off. 

6.  If  we  examine  the  countenances  of  the  seamen  as  they 
leave  the  ship,  it  will  be  apparent  to  us  that  they  manifest 
very  little  of  that  buoyancy  and  light-heartedness  which  we 
should  naturally  expect  to  witness   in   the    actions   of  men 
that  had  just  returned  from  a  long  voyage,  where  they  had 
encountered   dangers,    hardships,   and   discomforts    almost 
every  day.     The  reason  is  obvious.     These  men  know  they 
are  not  going  home.     They  know  there  is  no  one  on  shore 
to  take  much  interest  in  them,  except  self-interest ;  and  so 
they  feel  hopeless  and  dejected.     They  know,  from  former 
experiences,  what  is  about  to  take  place.     A  very  few  days 
of  sinful  pleasure,  or  rather  of  pain,  are  before  them ;  and 
then,  as  soon  as  their  little  stock  of  money  is  expended, 
they  will  embark  to  go  another  weary  voyage,  and  return 
again  in  the  same  manner  as  before. 


28          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

7.  The  Bible  says  that  it  is  not  good  for  man  to  be 
alone.      He  craves  and  needs  sympathy.      He  longs   for 
female  society.      In  the  case  of  the  sailor,  how  are  these 
cravings  and  longings  of  the  human  soul  to  be  gratified  ? 
Who  is  there  to  feel  interested  in  his  welfare,  and  bid  him 
welcome  in  such  a  manner,  that  he  can  feel  that  the  lan- 
guage which  he  hears  is  but  an  exponent  of  the  heart's 
best  affections  ?     There  is  no  one ;  and  he  is  painfully  con- 
scious of  it.     There  is  no  one  to  share  the  bitter  feelings 
which  crowd  upon  his  memory ;  and  he  tries  to  give  vent  to 
them  by  unavailing  sighs  and  curses. 

8.  The  laborer  on  the  wharf,  although  his  occupation  is 
a  humble  one,  has  this  in  his  favor :  he  can  go  home  when 
his  work  is  done,  and  there  contemplate  and  enjoy  treas- 
ures such  as  money  alone  can  never  purchase,  —  treasures 
which  bring  gladness  to  the  heart  and  animation  to  the 
spirits.     However  deficient  he  may  be  in  this  world's  goods, 
he  feels  that  his  wife  and  children  are  his  own.     The  rela- 
tions that  exist,  or  ought  to  exist,  between  him  and  his 
family,  have  a  powerful  tendency  to  strengthen  his  hands 
and  heart,  and  buoy  him  up  against  despair,  even  under 
the  most  adverse  circumstances.    *Not  so  the  sailor.     He 
has  no  treasures  but  a  little  hard-earned  cash,  which  his 
professed  friends  are  trying  every  expedient  to  get  away 
from  him ;  nor  can  he  find  any  female  companions,  except- 
ing those  poor,  degraded  wretches  who  are  more  outcasts 
from  society  than  himself.     Under  such  circumstances,  is 
it  strange  that  sober  looks  should  prevail  among  seamen* 
when  they  are  about  to  take  their  departure  from  the  best 
home  they  are  usually  ever  possessed  of  upon  the  earth,  — 
a  ship's  forecastle  ? 

*  There  are  men  going  to  sea  to  whom  the  above  remarks  will  not  apply,  — 
natural  eons  of  Belial,  who  delight  in  riot  and  debauchery.  But  they  are  no 
more  numerous  among  seamen  than  they  are  among  other  classes  of  men. 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          29 

9.  The  usage  on  board  of  ships  is  frequently  bad  enough, 
and  the   accommodations   almost   always  wretched ;    but, 
while  there,  the  mind  of  the  sailor  can  feed  on  hope.     He 
knows,  it  is  true,  that  his  life  is  pre-eminently  one  of  toils, 
discomforts,  and  privations ;  but  then  such  things,  in  some 
degree,  fall  to  the  lot  of  all  men  :  and  he  is  seldom  heard  to 
complain,  or  even  allude  to  them.     But  when  he  reaches 
port,  and  finds  that  his  air-castles 4iave  all  vanished;  when 
he  finds,  that,  in  place  of  bread,  lie  must  take  up  with  a 
stone,  —  then  despair  seizes  upon  him,  and  he  rushes  madly 
into  the  embraces  of  sin,  determined,  that,  rather  than  be 
deprived  of  all  the  treasures  that  men  hold  dear,  he  will 
take  up  with  the  counterfeit;  and  so  he  perishes  miserably, 
with  no  eye  to  pity,  and  no  arm  to  save. 

10.  Let  us  now,  in  our  imagination,  follow  the  sailor  to 
his  boarding-house,  and  observe  what  takes  place  there ;  so 
that  we  can  understand  what  was  meant  by  that  glorious 
good  time  promised  him  by  his  officious  friend,  the  shovel- 
nosed  shark,  whom  we  have  already  introduced  and  par- 
tially described.     He  is  usuall}'  conducted  thither  by  that 
attentive  and  interested  individual,  who  receives  a  certain 
sum  per  head  for  all  boarders,  new  and  old ;   but  there  is 
usually  a  large  difference  made  in  favor  of  the  new.     The 
sailor  sometimes  has  a  chance  to  ride  on  top  of  his  things 
in  the  team ;  but  he  usually  prefers  to  go  afoot,  so  that,  in 
his  uncouth   appearance   and   forlorn   condition,  he   shall 
attract  as  little  attention   as  possible.     When  he  arrives 
at  the  boarding-house,  he  is  greeted  very  kindly  by  the 
landlord  and  landlady ;  and  after  he  has  replied  to  all  their 
questions  concerning  his  health,  welfare,    &c.,    and  after 
they  have  expressed  much  sympathy  for  him  by  words  and 
gestures,   he   is   invited  to  the  bar,   where  his   kind    and 
benevolent  landlord  gives  him  a  glass  of  grog  to  cheer  him 
up,  and  make  him  feel  like  himself,  now  that  he  has  arrived 

3* 


30          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

safe  and  sound  among  such  good  friends.  He  is  also  given 
to  understand  that  it  will  be  better  for  him  to  take  a  few 
quiet  drinks  at  home  than  to  go  elsewhere  for  them,  where 
he  will  be  likely  to  fall  into  bad  company,  and  perhaps  get 
robbed.  Nearly  all  of  these  boarding-houses  either  have 
a  clothing-store  in  a  part  of  the  building,  or  else  the  pro- 
prietors are  interested  in  one  elsewhere ;  and  into  one  of 
these  Jack  is  next  introduced.  The  goods  in  such  places 
are  generally  cheap  and  poorly  made :  but  the  sailor  thinks 
he  must  have  clothing  immediately;  and  so  he  trades  where 
they  are  willing  to  trust  him  until  he  is  paid  off  from  the 
ship.  The  prices  in  those  stores  are  regulated  somewhat 
by  the  amount  of  intelligence  and  knowledge  displayed  by 
the  individual  who  buys;  but  they  usually  range  from  five 
to  seventy-five  per  cent  more  than  would  have  to  be  paid 
almost  anywhere  else  for  the  same  articles.  Considerable 
advantage  is  frequently  taken  of  the  sailor  in  those  stores, 
whenever  he  happens  to  be  in  circumstances  which  render 
it  extremely  difficult  for  him  to  avoid  extortion.  Whale- 
men are  often  in  such  circumstances  while  buying  their 
outfits ;  and  that  is  probably  one  reason  why  they  have  so 
little  due  them  on  their  pay-days.  After  the  sailor  has 
changed  his  clothes,  visited  the  barber,  and  sent  his  things 
to  the  washerwoman,  he  is  considered  as  fairly  inducted 
into  the  boarding-house;  and  most  of  the  special  attentions 
of  his  friends  cease  for  a  time. 

11.  Meal-time  at  length  arrives,  and  Jack  has  an  oppor- 
tunity to  indulge  in  the  luxuries  of  fresh  beef,  fresh  bread, 
pies,  cakes,  &c. ;  and  he  enjoj's  it.  Confined  for  months  on 
board  of  a  vessel,  where  a  large  part  of  his  daily  food  is 
composed  of  "  flint  biscuits  "  and  "  mahogany  beef,"  the 
change  seems  great'and  grateful  to  him  ;  and  so  it  is.  The 
quality  of  the  food  served  up  in  seamen's  boarding-houses 
is  probably  equal  to  that  of  others  where  the  same  price  is 


A  VOICE  PROM  THE  DEEP.          31 

charged  for  board;  and  in  this  respect  they  are  certainly 
entitled  to  some  credit.  But  food  for  the  support  of  his 
body  is  not  the  only  entertainment  furnished  at  meal-times 
for  the  sailor.  Loud  talking,  swearing,  and  even  quarrel- 
ling, add  to  the  conviviality  of  the  scene;  and,  as  the  waiting- 
maids  in  such  places  are  seldom  overburdened  with  modesty, 
low  jokes,  vulgar  and  even  obscene  language,  and  many 
other  improprieties,  are  constantly  carried  on  between  them 
and  the  boarders.  The  landlord  and  landlady  generally 
countenance,  and  in  some  cases  encourage  as  much  as 
possible,  all  such  things,  believing  that  they  all  help  to 
make  their  house  popular  among  seamen.  If  any  one  is 
observed  at  the  table  who  does  not  affect  to  take  a  part  in 
and  be  pleased  with  such  proceedings,  he  is  almost  sure  to 
be  made  the  butt  of  all  the  witty  remarks  the  company  can 
think  of;  and,  if  he  should  be  so  unwise  as  to  remonstrate, 
his  persecutions  would  certainly  be  increased. 

12.  There  is  usually  a  dirty,  repulsive-looking  room  in 
every  seamen's  boarding-house,   where  some  of  the   men 
assemble  at  times  to  smoke  and  to  talk.     In  the  midst  of  it 
there  is  a  table  set,  where  a  party  can  frequently  be  seen 
playing  cards.     The  custom  is,  that  the  beaten  player  shall 
treat  all  hands  to  whiskey,  or  some  other  liquor  which  the 
company  may  chance  to  prefer.     The  landlord  spends  much 
of  his  time  in  this  vicinity,  and  looks  on  approvingly,  telling 
his  boarders  that  it  is  much  better  spending  their  time  so, 
than  to  be  cruising  about  the  streets,  where  they  will  be 
exposed  to  temptations  and  bad  company.     He  declares 
there  is  no  harm  done  in  playing  cards,  as  long  as  peo- 
ple just    amuse   themselves    by  playing    for   the  drinks, 
and  do  not  stake  money.     He  knows  very  well,  however, 
that  it  is  his  clerk  who  dispenses  the  drinks,  and  that  all 
the  money  they  cost  eventually  goes  into  his  own  pockets. 

13.  Some  of  these  houses  keep  one  or  two  girls  besides 


32  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

the  table-waiters,  to  do  chamber-work,  and  help  in  the 
kitchen.  If  they  were  all  intelligent  and  well-behaved, 
their  influence  on  seamen  would  be  good  and  salutary;  but 
that  is  seldom  or  never  the  case.  None  of  them  may  be 
downright  prostitutes;  but,  in  many  places,  they  are  encour- 
aged and  expected  by  the  keepers  of  such  houses  to  make 
as  free  with  the  sailors  as  they  well  can,  and  not  part  with 
the  last  relic  of  virtue  and  modesty  which  they  possess; 
and  in  nearly  all  cases  they  are  required  to  have  a  tender 
regard  for  the  home-instincts  of  the  sailor,  and  to  seek  to 
please  him  in  all  things.  Hence  it  is,  that  there  can  fre- 
quently be  witnessed  in  all  parts  of  such  houses  rude  frolics 
and  almost  all  kinds  of  lewd  actions  and  conversation  be- 
tween the  boarders  and  employees.  It  can  easily  be  ima- 
gined what  eftect  such  actions  would  be  likely  to  have  on 
men  that  have  never  been  systematically  taught  the  neces- 
sity of  qualifying  their  animal  instincts  by  moral  and 
religious  training.  The  apparent  freedom  and  sociability 
which  seamen  enjoy  in  their  boarding-places  is  also  one 
reason  why  they  usually  prefer  them  to  the  Sailors'  Honi---. 
where  they  can  seldom  find  influences  adapted  to  gratify 
their  social  feelings. 

14.  When  Jack  receives  his  supply  of  new  clothing,  his 
landlord  generally  advances  him  twenty-five  or  thirty  dol- 
lars, if  the  prospects  of  his  voyage  will  warrant  it;  and  this 
circumstance  is  of  course  known  to  the  runner  (alias  John 
Shark),  who  at  once  proceeds  to  lay  a  trap  to  get  as  much  of 
it  as  possible.  In  order  to  fully  understand  the  working 
of  his  plan,  we  must  inquire  a  little  further  into  the  status 
of  the  runner,  and  the  person  or  persons  that  he  makes 
use  of  to  accomplish  his  object.  These  runners  are  perhaps 
the  most  hardened  specimens  of  humanity  that  exist  upon 
the  earth.  The  very  nature  of  their  employment  makes 
them  so  in  some  degree  :  but  other  influences  are  not  want- 


A   VOICE  FKOM  THE  DEEP.  33 

ing;  and  among  them  the  bias  given  to  their  characters  by 
the  laws  of  hereditary  descent  is  probably  the  strongest 
and  most  enduring.  They  are  bad  by  nature,  and  deficient 
in  moral  susceptibilities. 

In  certain  of  the  worst  localities  in  nearly  all  of  our  large 
seaport  towns  there  can  be  seen,  at  almost  any  time,  bare- 
footed and  bare-headed  little  children  running  about  the 
streets,  or  playing  in  the  gutters,  covered  with  filth  and 
vermin,  and,  in  many  cases,  the  victims  of  dreadful  dis- 
eases. When  night  comes,  the  poor  little  things  crawl 
into  the  cellars  and  attics  of  those  forbidding-looking 
buildings  which  are  used  for  sailors'  boarding-houses,  rum- 
shops,  and  dens  of  prostitution.  Being,  in  many  instances, 
the  direct  offspring  of  sin  and  shame,  what  good  can  be 
expected  from  them  ?  They  grow  up  familiar  with  all 
kinds  of  vice  and  wickedness,  and,  of  course,  practise  what 
they  know  as  soon  as  they  get  big  enough.  Some  of  the 
males  grow  up  to  be  runners  for  sailors'  boarding-houses  ; 
and  the  females  form  the  nuclei  of  those  houses  of  pros- 
titution which  abound  in  the  vicinity  of  nearly  all  seamen's 
boarding-houses.  These  people  seldom  marry,  but  live 
together,  and  help  each  other  get  a  living.  The  runner 
proposes  a  walk  with  the  sailor,  and  soon  introduces  him 
to  one  of  these  women,  who  receives  him  cordially,  and,  as 
soon  as  she  can  gain  his  confidence,  proceeds  to  get  his 
money  away  as  fast  as  possible.  And,  when  that  is  gone, 
he  is  obliged  to  go  to  sea  for  more,  which  leaves  her  free 
to  play  the  same  game  on  somebody  else ;  and  the  money 
she  divides  with  her  paramour  the  runner.  If  she  gets 
into  any  difficulty  with  the  sailor,  the  runner  is  always 
at  hand  to  help  her  out  of  it,  —  by  force  if  necessary.  In 
this  way  sailors  frequently  divest  themselves  of  half  the 
proceeds  of  an  East-India  voyage  in  three  or  four  days. 

15.  As  the  time  and  attention  of  the  sailor  are  largely 


34  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

taken  up  with  liis  mistress,  it  follows  that  he  will  be  absent 
from  his  boarding-house  at  meal-times  on  many  occasions. 
He  has  to  pay  just  the  same,  however;  and  the  number 
of  drinks  he  has  taken,  and  sometimes  a  great  many  he  has 
not  taken,  are  likewise  carefully  reckoned  into  the  account. 
The  landlord  gains  very  much  in  this  way ;  for,  besides 
being  absent  from  many  of  his  meals,  the  sailor's  appetite 
for  wholesome  food  is  so  much  diminished  by  the  amount 
of  trash  he  takes  into  his  stomach  in  the  shape  of  poison- 
ous liquors,  ice-creams,  oysters,  nuts,  and  candies,  that  he 
cannot  eat  much  when  he  happens  to  be  in ;  and  the  pru- 
dent landlady  is  not  slow  in  turning  this  circumstance  to 
pecuniary  account. 

16.  As  soon  as  Jack  is  paid  off,  he  usually  deposits 
a  part  of  his  money  with  his  boarding-master  for  safe-keep- 
ing, and  draws  such  sums  as  he  may  want  from  time  to 
time.  That  is  a  very  good  arrangement  for  the  landlord, 
but  not  quite  so  good  for  the  runner  and  his  mate.  If  the 
sailor  prefers  to  keep  his  money  himself,  which  he  does 
sometimes,  the  runner  and  his  courtesan  come  in  for  the 
largest  share ;  and  the  landlord  is  obliged  to  content  him- 
self with  the  advanced  wages,  which  he  always  handles. 
As  Jack  is  very  liberal  in  his  dealings,  and  keeps  no  account 
of  his  expenditures,  it  is  not  surprising  that  such  a  multi- 
tude of  friends  should  soon  manage  to  find  the  bottom 
of  his  purse.  The  state  of  his  finances  is  usually  announced 
to  him  by  the  runner,  who  asks  him  how  he  should  like  to 
go  in  such  a  ship  on  such  a  voyage.  The  sailor  knows 
what  the  hint  means  well  enough,  but  generally  does  not 
like  to  go  until  he  is  absolutely  obliged  to.  In  making  the 
agreement,  and  stipulating  for  the  advance,  the  runner, 
who  acts  under  instructions  from  the  boarding-master,  has 
pretty  much  his  own  way ;  but  he  .usually  defers  to  the 
wishes  of  the  sailor  as  far  as  his  own  interests  will  allow 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          35 

him.  A  sailor  in  the  hands  of  a  boarding-master  can  never 
get  away  without  advanced  wages.  They  usually  stipulate 
for  about  two  months'  pay  on  long  voyages;  and  the  land- 
lord becomes  their  security  and  broker,  receiving  his  pay 
from  the  shipping-agent  after  the  vessel  has  proceeded  to 
sea.  Out  of  his  advanced  wages  the  sailor  is  allowed  a 
small  sum  by  his  landlord  to  replenish  his  sea-stock  of 
clothing ;  and  the  garments  are  furnished  from  the  store  we 
have  just  mentioned.  He  also  gives  the  sailor  one  or 
two  dollars  to  spend  with  his  mistress,  and  wind  up  his 
spree,  leaving  the  balance  until  the  bill  is  settled.  When 
the  reckoning  time  comes,  it  is  often  found  that  the  sailor 
is  heavily  in  debt  to  his  landlord;  but  that  benevolent 
individual  considerately  tells  him  to  "  never  mind,"  but  be 
sure  and  come  back  next  time,  and  make  it  all  right  then. 
If  he  fails  to  come,  however,  his  wages  are  immediately  trus- 
teed; and  the  runner,  and  sometimes  the  landlord,  set 
their  wits  to  work  to  procure  for  him  a  sound  thrashing. 

17.  When  the  ship  is  ready  to  go,  Jack  is  generally  ush- 
ered on  board  by  the  runner  in  a  state  bordering  on  intoxi- 
cation ;  for,  in  some  respects,  he  is  more  manageable  when 
partially  drunk.  The  runner,  on  such  occasions,  coaxes  and 
pets  him  until  the  fasts  are  cast  loose,  and  then  bids  him 
a  hearty  good-by,  and  ends  by  wishing  him  a  pleasant 
voyage,  and  all  sorts  of  good  things  until  he  is  out  of  hear- 
ing. The  landlady  sometimes  slips  a  bottle  of  rum  into 
the  sailor's  chest  before  it  leaves  the  house,  as  a  token 
of  her  affectionate  regard,  motherly  care,  and  good-will ; 
and  sometimes  the  runner  slips  him  an  extra  bottle  just  as 
the  vessel  is  about  to  leave.* 


*  How  can  our  shipping  commissioners  prevent  such  things  as  these?  They 
cannot.  Unless  the  temporal  condition  of  our  seamen  is  improved  by  suitable 
means,  all  legal  enactments  to  benefit  them  must  prove  unsatisfactory  and 
abortive. 


36  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

18.  Such  is  Jack's  experience  on  shore  among  his  friends ; 
and  a  very  eventful  one  it  is  too.     In  a  very  few  short  days 
he  is  deprived  of  perhaps  a  year's  earnings;  and  the  money 
is  distributed  among  a  lot  of  sharks,  cormorants,  and  har- 
pies ;  for  certainly  they  deserve  no  better  name.     He  went 
on  shore  to  recruit;  but,  instead  of  accomplishing  his  object, 
he  is  far  worse  off  than  he  was  before,  both  physically  and 
morally.     A  voyage  around  Cape  Horn,  or  a  western  pas- 
sage across  the  Atlantic  in  the  winter,  would  not  do  so 
much  to  shatter  his  constitution  as  a  few  short  days  spent 
in  the  haunts  of  sin  and  vice.     His  self-respect  is  also 
gone ;   for  he  knows  that   he  has  degraded  himself,  and 
defiled  the  temple  of  God.     Under  such  circumstances,  he 
tries  to  find  some  relief  from  the  stings  of  conscience  by 
having  recourse  to  the  bottle  which  was  placed  in  his  chest 
by  the  landlady.     He  drinks  deep  and  recklessly ;  and  the 
poisonous  liquid,  like  an  electric  current,  sends  madness 
and  despair  through  all  his  frame. 

The  officers  of  the  ship,  in  the  mean  time,  require  his 
services  on  deck ;  and,  if  their  calls  are  not  promptly 
obeyed,  they  use  force  to  bring  him  out.  A  fight  generally 
ensues,  in  which  poor  Jack  gets  badly  bruised  and  beaten ; 
and  he  also  frequently  renders  himself  obnoxious  to  the 
ill-will  of  his  officers  for  the  whole  voyage  by  his  offensive 
conduct. 

19.  In  two  or  three  days  after  leaving  port,  the  rum  is 
all  gone ;  and  the  realities  of  another  voyage,  -begun  so 
inauspiciously,  begin  to  present  themselves.     The  claims 
of  duty  begin  once  more  to  occupy  the  time  and    minds  of 
the  poor  mariners ;  and   in  a  few  days  a  better  effect  is 
visible.     The  powers  of  nature  are  again  busily  at  work, 
seeking  to  restore  the  exhausted   energies   of  mind   and 
body;  and  in  due  time  things  wear  a  more  pleasing  aspect. 
The  officers  grow  better  natured  as  they  find  the  crew. 


A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP.  37 

more  tractable;  and  at  length  peace  and  harmony  are  some- 
times restored  fore  and  aft.  Many  of  the  sailors  then  try 
to  forget  the  awful  scenes  they  have  just  passed  through, 
and  begin  to  indulge  again  in  the  pleasures  of  hope.  They 
think  they  will  do  better  the  next  time ;  and  that  delusion 
never  leaves  them.  As  long  as  the  soul  of  man  continues 
to  inhabit  its  earthly  tenement,  hope  will  always  keep  a 
taper  burning  to  lure  him  from  despair. 

20.  Most  men  love  to  look  ahead,  and  let  their  fancy 
luxuriate  in  the  midst  of  imaginary  blessings.     They  know 
that  behind  them  is  a  desolate  wilderness,  but  before  them 
is  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  and  they  are  generally  just  expect- 
ing to  arrive  thither,  and  rest  forever.     Such  is  not  always 
the  case,  however;  for  men  are  affected  differently,  according 
to  their  susceptibilities   and  temperaments.     People   that 
are  naturally  morose  and  peevish  in  their  tempers  and  dis- 
positions  are  sometimes  tenfold  more  disagreeable,  if  possi- 
ble, when  they  have  inflicted  upon  them  the  just  punish- 
ments due  to  their  transgressions,  and  are  neither  willing 
to  enjoy  any  thing  themselves,  nor  let  anybody  else.     Sail- 
ors of  this  description  often   get   a  whole  ship's  company 
into  trouble  by  indulging  in  sulky  looks  and  actions,  thereby 
treating   their   officers  with    the    grossest   disrespect,   and 
making  themselves    obnoxious   to    those   wholesome   rules 
and  regulations  which  must  be  enforced  in  order  that  the 
best  interests  of  all  may  be  secured. 

21.  Sometimes  physical  diseases  of  the  most  loathsome 
description  result  from  those  outrages  of  the  laws  of  nature 
which  all  men  are  guilty  of  that  follow  the  strange  woman 
to   her  haunts  of  sin  and  death.     The   wretched  patient, 
1  it-sides  having  to  endure  the  most  intense  bodily  suffer- 
ings, is  often   made  to  feel   some  of  the  dreadful  horrors 
of  the  second  death,  with  hardly  hope  to  be  his  companion. 
Shipmasters,  with  a  view  to  keep  such  men  in  a  condition 

4 


38          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

so  as  not  to  lose  their  services,  generally  administer  such 
remedies  as  the  medicine-chest  affords ;  but  they  seldom 
or  never  effect  a  cure,  if  such  a  thing  is  indeed  possible. 

22.  Most  sailors  try  to  forget  their  miseries  as  soon  as 
they  can,  however,  and  philosophically  conclude  that  it  is 
of  no  use  to  grieve  about  that  which  cannot  be  helped. 
They  delude  themselves  with  the  belief  that  the  future  will 
be  better  than  the  past ;  though  a  little  reflection  on  their 
own  experience  would  surely  teach  them  better.     It  is  not 
unusual,  even,  to  hear  them  moralize  about  their  follies  and 
transgressions  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  one  to  believe 
that  they  were  thoroughly  conscious  of  their  situation  ;  and, 
if  good  resolves  could  effect  any  thing,  we  might  reasonably 
conclude  that  they  would  never  yield  to  temptation  again. 
Alas  for  them !     They  do  not  realize  the  treachery  of  the 
human  heart,  nor  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.     They  do  not 
resolve  to  flee  from  temptation,  but  only  not  to  fall  in  it 
They  would  still  consider  the  advantages  enumerated  by 
the  tempter,  when  he  says  in  honeyed  accents,  "  Ye  shall 
not   surely  die."      Their  renewed   hopes   have   the   effect 
to  promote  cheerfulness,  however,  and  in  that  respect,  if 
in  no  other,  are  the  means  of  doing  much  good. 

23.  The  influences  for  good  on  board  of  a  ship  are  rather 
negative  than  positive   in   their  character.     As  the  poet 
observed :  — 

'•  Much  waa  removed  that  tempted  once  to  sin." 

And  that  is  about  all  that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  a  sailor's 
life  upon  the  sea.  He  is  there  taught  neither  to  fear  God 
nor  to  regard  man  ;  and  it  is  very  seldom  that  he  can  ever 
see  the  beauty  of  holiness  exhibited  in  the  lives  and  conver- 
sation of  those  around  him.  The  society  of  other  individuals 
situated  like  himself  may  afford  him  some  pleasure,  and 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          39 

the  kindly  feelings  which  he  sees  manifested  towards  him 
by  his  officers  may  give  him  considerable  satisfaction ;  but 
his  better  part  is  not  nourished.  "  No  man  cares  for  his 
soul." 

24.  Daily  and  hourly  he  hears  his  companions  indulge 
in  profanity  without  any  apparent  compunctions  of  con- 
science.    The  sabbath  is  but  very  little  regarded  at  sea  • 
and,  whenever  he  is  allowed  to  rest  a  little,  there  is  hardly 
ever   wanting   in   a   ship's   forecastle   a    number    of    the 
"  sons  of  Belial,"  that  are  always  speaking  in  terms  of  glo- 
rification about  their  exploits  in  evil  both  by  sea  and  land. 
The  reading-matter  on  board  of  a  ship  is  very  apt  to  be  low 
in  its  tone,  and  some  of  it  of  the  worst  description.      Cheap 
novels,  which  record  the  imaginary  exploits  of  highway- 
men and  pirates,  constitute  the  chief;  and  the  productions 
of  Byron,  Eeynolds,  and  Paul  de  Kock,  contribute  their 
corrupting  influences  to  poison  the  minds  of  hundreds  of 
young  and  inexperienced  sailors,  and  thus  pave  their  way 
to  those   "  houses  of  death,"   from   which  "  none   that  go 
ever  return  again ;  neither  take  they  hold  of  the  paths  of 
life." 

25.  The  officers,  too,   whose  positions  the   seamen   are 
bound  to  respect,  are  often  unprincipled  and  wicked  men ; 
tod  it  is  very  seldom  indeed  that  one  can  be  found  who  is 
willing  to  make  any  personal  efforts  to  promote  the  moral 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  his  crew.     The  majority  of  ship- 
masters are,  perhaps,  men  of  kindly  feelings ;  but,  their 
minds  and  hearts  being  pre-occupied  by  selfish  and  worldly 
interests,  they  do  not  perceive  that  the  cause  of  truth  has 
any  claims  upon  them ;  and  so  they  content  themselves  by 
taking  but  very  little   notice  of  any  thing  in   connection 
with  their  crews,  except  to  see  that  the  work  is  done  right, 
and  proper  discipline  maintained.     Many  of  them  practise 
the  same  vices  which  the  seamen   are  guilty  of  j  and  very 


40  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

few  can  be  found  who  do  not  habitually  use  profane  lan- 
guage, drink  occasionally,  and  use  tobacco.  The  influence 
that  most  officers  exert  upon  their  crews  is,  therefore,  un- 
favorable to  the  cause  of  virtue  and  religion  ;  as  most  men 
are  apt  to  refer  to  the  bad  conduct  of  those  who  happen 
to  be  above  them  in  wealth,  position,  and  accompli  >h- 
ments,  as  an  excuse  for  their  own  shortcomings  and  mis- 
demeanors. 

26.  There  are  also  several  direct  agencies  for  evil  exist- 
ing on  board  of  many  of  our  ships ;  and  perhaps  we  cannot 
do  better  than  to  introduce  a  few  of  them  here.     One  is  the 
most  debasing,  shameless,  and  heartless  tyranny.     Some 
men  are  naturally  tyrants  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word; 
and,  when  poor  Jack  gets  into  a  ship  where  one  of  these 
fiends  holds  sway,  his  condition  is  indeed  deplorable.     The 
worst  kind  of  slavery  is  an  enviable  state  compared  with 
the  usage  on  board  of  these  "  hells  afloat,"  as  the  sailors 
call   them.      The    men    are    beaten    with    belay  ing-pins, 
knocked  down   with    brass   knuckles,  kicked  with   heavy 
boots,  deprived  of  sleep,  and  tortured  in  almost  every  pos- 
sible way  to  satisfy  the  fiendish  malice  of  those  monsters 
of  depravity,  who  delight  and^glory  in  being  called  fighting- 
men,  bullies,  and  horses.     About  fifteen  years  ago,  it  seemed 
as  though  the  majority  of  our  large   clipper  ships  were 
cursed  by  being  officered  by  these  devils  in  human  shape ; 
and  the  names  of  some  of  those  Neros,  Herods,  and  Calig- 
ulas,  will  long  be  remembered  by  the  unfortunate  men  who 
were  compelled  to  sail  with  them. 

27.  A   sailor's   condition    on    board    of  such    a   ship    is 
indeed  pitiable,  and  a  parallel  case  it  is  very  hard  to  find. 
The  epithets  applied  to  seamen  by  such  officers  are  often 
too  shocking  to  be  repeated.     To  be  called  the  "son  of  a 
female  of  the  canine   species"  is  not  calculated  to  make 
a  spirited   man  feel  very  pleasant ;  but  that  is  about  the 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          41 

mildest  term  ever  used  by  such  officers  when  addressing 
their  men ;  and  they  almost  invariably  put  a  volley  of 
oaths  before  and  behind  their  favorite  expression  to  give 
it  emphasis.  Such  officers  in  their  ordinary  conversation 
use  the  term  "hounds"  to  designate  their  sailors  collec- 
tively, and  vie  with  each  other  in  boasting  how  many  men 
they  have  knocked  down,  kicked  the  face  off  of,  robbed,  and 
murdered.  When  we  reflect  upon  such  horrible  scenes 
of  cruelty,  which  used  to  be  so  common  on  board  of  sea- 
going vessels,  and  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that 
American  commerce  is  very  much  diminished,  and,  perhaps, 
in  a  fair  way  to  become  extinct,  how  can  we  resist  the 
conclusion,  that  the  sad  change  is  largely  due  to  that 
shameless  tyranny  and  oppression  which  has  brought  down 
the  judgments  of  God  on  our  mercantile  interests,  and  seem- 
ingly destroyed  our  commerce  beyond  the  possibility  of 
a  resurrection  ?  It  is  nearly  certain  that  it  cannot  be  resus- 
citated without  help  from  the  nation ;  and  it  will  assuredly 
be  for  the  nation's  interest  to  provide  for  a  better  state 
of  things  in  the  future.  May  our  commerce  never  rise 
until  its  foundations  are  established  in  truth  and  righteous- 
ness! 

28.  The  immediate  effect  of  the  ill-treatment  which  sea- 
men so  often  receive  is  to  destroy  their  self-respect,  and 
make  them  feel  that  they  have  very  little  in  prospect  worth 
living  for  in  this  world.  They  frequently  brood  over  their 
miseries,  and  cherish  bitter  and  revengeful  feelings  towards 
their  officers,  until,  finally,  desperation  causes  them  to  com- 
mit acts  of  violence  and  bloodshed.  Their  oppressions  have 
also  a  powerful  tendency  to  give  them  dark  and  erroneous 
views  of  human  nature,  and  sometimes  even  cause  them  to 
distrust  the  goodness  of  God.  "  For  why,"  say  they,  "  does 
he  suffer  such  rascality  to  exist?"  They  observe,  also,  that 
ship-owners,  and  others  connected  with  vessels,  are  gener- 

4* 


42          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

ally  church-going  people  ;  and  that  circumstance  leads 
many  seamen  to  conclude  that  all  Christians  are  hypo- 
crites, or  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing.  All  such  things  have 
an  influence  to  harden  the  sailor's  heart,  and  confirm  him 
in  the  belief  that  all  virtue  is  counterfeit,  and  that  good 
motives  are  hardly  ever  the  springs  of  action  in  conducting 
human  affairs. 

29.  In  many  other  ways  does  oppression  and  tyranny 
produce  evil,  and  only  evil.     The  best  part  of  seamen  do 
not  always  get  entirely  discouraged;  but  their  experience 
causes  them  to  avoid  large  ships  and  long  voyages  as  much 
as  possible,  and  confine  themselves  to  coasting,  fishing,  and 
short  voyages,  where  they  can  soon  change  their  quarters 
if  things  do   not  go  on  to  suit  them.     Such  unjust  and 
shameful  proceedings  have  also  had  the  effect  to  keep  most 
Americans  away  from  the  sea  altogether ;  for  the  tastes  and 
education  of  our  people  render  them  averse  to  being  will- 
ingly brought  into  positions  where  they  will  be  almost  sure 
to  receive  unmerited  abuse.     As  ships  must  be  manned  at 
some  rate  in  order  to  make  their  voyages  safely,  and  as  the 
best  behaved  and  most  efficient  seamen  will  not  go  if  they 
can  help  it,  shipping-agents  are  therefore  compelled  to  hire 
thugs,  thieves,  pickpockets,  and  runners,  that  want  to  make 
a  passage  somewhere,  to  help  make  up  a  vessel's  complement 
of  men.     This  is  a  great  evil ;  for  such  vagabonds,  of  course, 
know  but  very  little  about  a  sea-faring  life  :    and  so  the 
most  complicated  of  all  trades,  involving  the  safety  of  thou- 
sands of  lives,  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  property,  has  to 
be  left,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  care  of  men  that  ought 
to  be  confined  in  a  state-prison,  or  transported  beyond  the 
seas  against  their  will  and  wishes.     It  is  no  wonder,  then, 
that  so  many  noble  vessels  are  carelessly  lost,  and  valuable 
lives  and  property  imperilled. 

30.  If  the  bad  men  could  always  be  associated  with  the 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          43 

bad  officers,  there  might  not  be  quite  so  much  harm  done  ; 
but  the  reverse  is  oftener  the  case.  The  petty  tyrants  who 
delight  in  the  misery  of  others  are  just  as  anxious  to 
obtain  quiet,  peaceable  men  themselves  as  anybody ;  and 
they  succeed  about  as  often.  To  do  this,  they  will  fre- 
quently 'anchor  their  vessels  in  the  stream,  and  then  au- 
thorize their  broker  to  pay  "  blood  money  "  to  the  landlords, 
which  has  the  effect  to  interest  them ;  and  then  there  is 
seldom  mSich  difficulty.  The  best  shipmasters  are  not  so 
fond  of  paying  the  "  blood  money,"  which  is  sometimes  as 
high  as  ten  or  twelve  dollars  per  head ;  and  so,  in  many 
cases,  they  have  to  take  up  with  what  the  others  leave. 
This,  again,  is  another  crying  evil ;  for  when  bad  sailors,  or 
rather  salt-water  impostors,  get  into  a  good  ship,  they  make 
it  about  as  disagreeable  for  the  officers  as  bad  officers  can 
make  it  disagreeable  for  well-disposed  men.  Their  con- 
duct is  generally  in  the  highest  degree  irritating  and  vexa- 
tious. They  are  not  willing  to  submit  to  proper  discipline, 
nor  to  any  wholesome  restraints,  and  act  continually  as 
though  they  thought  it  must  be  extremely  dishonorable  in 
them  to  behave  well.  In  such  unpleasant  circumstances, 
if  the  officers  do  not  act  promptly,  and  use  any  and  every 
means  that  may  be  necessary  to  keep  the  miscreants 
under,  they  will  behave  like  so  many  devils  incarnate,  and 
make  the  ship  a  perfect  pandemonium.  They  will  openly 
and  shamelessly  rob  the  decent  men  on  board  of  their 
clothing;  insult  the  officers ;  fight  among  themselves ;  and 
do  many  other  things  which  must  rojoice  the  heart  of  the 
Great  Destroyer,  when  he  sees  what  apt  and  zealous  crea- 
tures the  greater  part  of  his  children  are.  The  writer 
of  these  pages  has  heard  several  of  these  scoundrels  tell 
their  officers  to  go  to  a  "  very  warm  place,"  because  they 
were  very  civilly  requested  to  keep  a  lookout  at  night. 
They  are  seldom  willing  to  do  any  thing  that  requires  them 


44          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

to  make  any  effort ;  and,  as  they  are  entirely  destitute 
of  shame,  no  man  can  hope  to  govern  such  a  set,  but  by 
having  recourse  to  the  most  stringent  measures,  and  fear- 
lessly using  every  means  that  may  be  necessary  to  preserve 
peace  and  order.  These  men,  too,  are  regular  sea-lawyers; 
and,  if  they  can  provoke  an  officer  to  strike  one  of  their 
number,  they  will  lay  their  case  before  their  boarding- 
master,  who  will  employ  a  lawyer  that  will  harass  the 
shipmaster  with  letters  aud  arrests,  until  he  is  glad  to  get 
clear  of  the  annoyance  by  paying  quite  a  large  sum  of 
money;  and  their  success  gives  them  fresh  courage  to 
repeat  the  same  manoeuvre  on  somebody  else.  If  the  ship- 
master is  resolved  to  fight  it  through  in  the  law,  he  is  very 
likely  to  get  the  worst  of  it:  for  these  men  will  swear  to 
any  thing;  and,  being  assisted  by  the  boarding-master  and 
runner,  they  will  make  up  and  swear  to  a  plausible  story, 
which  would  deceive  almost  any  jury  of  landsmen.  This, 
again,  is  another  great  evil  which  ought  to  be  remedied ;  for 
most  juries  know  as  little  of  maritime  affairs  as  they  do 
of  Tristan,  d.  Acuna,  or  Van  Dieman's  Land.  Juries  to 
try  seamen  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  composed  of  sea- 
faring men. 

31.  It  is  very  rarely,  however,  that  a  ship's  crew  is  com- 
posed of  men  wholly  good  or  wholly  bad.  For  reasons 
already  given,  they  now  average  far  worse  than  formerly. 
But  still  there  are  many  men  now  going  to  sea  that  are 
naturally  well  disposed;  and  if  they  could  have  their  temp- 
tations removed,  and  be  subjected  to  good  influences,  many 
of  them  might  be  saved  from  destruction,  and  become  orna- 
ments to  .their  profession,  as  well  as  benefactors  to  the 
human  race.  As  long  ns  such  men  are  swindled  by  their 
landlords,  maltreated  by  their  officers,  and  compelled  to 
live  on  equal  terms  with  felons  and  blackguards  of  almost 
every  description,  it  is,  of  course,  useless  to  talk  about  re- 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          45 

form ;  but  if  society  will  take  knowledge  of  the  situation 
of  these  suffering  men,  and  be  willing  to  give  them,  one 
and  all,  an  equal  chance  in  the  world,  and  the  same  rights 
and  privileges  that  other  men  enjoy,  then  we  can  hope 
that  the  time  has  at  last  arrived,  when  the  "abundance 
of  the  sea"  shall  be  given  to  that  Being  who  is  using  his 
children  as  agents  to  establish  upon  the  earth  his  blessed 
kingdom  of  righteousness  and  peace. 

Before  we  discuss  the  means  to  be  employed  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  much-desired  object,  we  will  take 
notice  of  a  few  more  grievous  wrongs  which  seamen  have 
to  endure,  and  which  will  probably  continue  to  exist  until 
the  change  we  have  mentioned  shall  become  an  accom- 
plished fact.  We  shall  take  no  further  notice  of  the  crimi- 
nals and  blacklegs,  who,  in  consequence  of  the  existing 
state  of  things,  make  up  so  large  a  percentage  of  our  ships' 
crews,  unless  compelled  to  do  so  in  order  to  make  our  sub- 
ject intelligible.  They  do  not  deserve  to  class  with  seamen ; 
and,  if  things  were  as  they  should  be,  they  would  all  be 
cared  for  at  some  penal  establishment,  where  force  could 
be  advantageously  used  to  make  them  work  for  a  living. 

32.  It  has  been  already  noticed,  that  many  of  our  ship- 
masters are  wicked  and  unprincipled  men,  who  would  stoop, 
if  circumstances  were  favorable,  to  do  the  meanest  things 
for  the  sake  of  a  little  pecuniary  benefit.  It  is  to  be  par- 
ticularly remarked,  that  such  men  generally  ignore  religion, 
and  profess  to  be  governed  by  a  high  sense  of  honor  in  all 
their  dealings  with  mankind.  When  a  ship  commanded 
by  one  of  these  honorable  individuals  reaches  a  foreign  port, 
and  he  finds  that  seamen  can  be  obtained  there  for  a  less 
rate  of  wages  than  what  he  is  paying,  he  immediately  sets 
his  wits  to  work  to  devise  some  plan  of  persecution,  which 
rarely  fails  to  drive  the  crew  all  ashore ;  especially  if  there 
are  any  landlords  and  runners  in  the  place  to  entice  them. 


46  A  VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP. 

The*  United  States  have  laws  to  discourage  the  discharge 
of  seamen  in  foreign  lands ;  but  they  are  wholly  ineffec- 
tual to  prevent  the  evil,  and  only  operate  to  embarrass  and 
perplex  good  captains,  who,  perhaps,  would  be  very  glad  to 
get  rid  of  some  of  their  roughs.  Bad  shipmasters  compel 
their  crews  to  desert  by  hard  usage,  and  nothing  can  be 
done  to  them  for  it ;  but,  if  a  good  captain  wants  to  get 
clear  of  a  felon  who  is  nothing  but  a  nuisance  on  board,  he 
must  first  take  him  to  the  consul,  and  get  the  consent 
of  that  functionary,  and  afterwards  pay  three  months'  addi- 
tional wages  to  defray  the  man's  expenses  home.  The 
poor  sailor  who  is  compelled  to  desert  by  cruel  treatment 
forfeits  all  of  his  wages,  and  his  clothing  into  the  bargain ; 
but  the  miserable  scoundrel  who  is  nothing  but  a  pest  on 
board  of  a  good  ship  is  protected  by  the  laws,  and  must  be 
paid  every  cent  that  belongs  to  him,  and  sent  home  by  the 
government,  free  of  expense.  It  is  true,  that,  if  the  captain 
can  make  it  appear  that  any  of  the  crew  have  been  guilty 
of  criminal  offences  on  board  of  his  ship,  he  will  then  be 
justified  in  discharging  them  without  the  three-months' 
additional  pay ;  but  that  almost  always  involves  a  lawsuit, 
which,  for  many  reasons,  is  far  more  practicable  for  the 
sailor  than  for  the  captain. 

The  lost  wages  of  the  deserted  sailor  are  lawfully  claimed 
by  the  United-States  Government;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  con- 
suls to  affix  a  true  account  of  the  same  to  every  vessel's 
crew-list,  so  as  to  avoid  all  disputes  in  the  custom-houses 
at  home.  The  captain  carries  the  ship's  articles,  and  the 
deserted  crew's  receipts  for  advanced  wages,  to  the  consul's 
outer  office,  and  assists  the  consul's  clerk  to  "square  up" 
the  forfeited  wages  and  effects  of  the  "runaways."  These 
experts  in  mathematics  generally  dispose  of  the  matter 
much  as  a  schoolboy  would  an  affected  quadratic  equation  ; 
and  when  they  have  got  every  thing  involved,  transposed, 


A  VOICE  FKOM  THE  DEEP.          47 

reduced,  and  simplified  to  their  minds,  it  is  often  found 
that  U.  S.  =  a  very  long  string  of  accounts,  which  the 
mathematical  processes  have  reduced  to  cipher  margins. 
The  ship  gains  largely  by  laying  for  a  long  time  without 
any  crew  on  board ;  for  their  services  are  seldom  actually 
required  in  ports  where  stevedores  handle  the  cargoes. 

33.  But  such  is  not  the  course  that  is  generally  pursued 
by  the  majority  of  these  honorable  .shipmasters,  especially 
if  the  consul  happens  to  be  a  man  of  known  integrity;  which 
is  sometimes  the  case.  Most  of  them  know  a  trick  worth 
two  of  that,  as  we  shall  presently  see.  In  nearly  all  sea- 
port towns  there  exists  a  lot  of  rascally  tailors  who  are 
willing  to  do  any  thing  to  make  money,  as  long  as  they  can 
manage  to  keep  the  weather-side  of  the  law.  To  one  of 
these  men  the  honorable  shipmaster  applies  himself,  and 
gives  him  authority  to  pay  off  his  deserted  crew.  In  these 
transactions  it  is  understood  that  the  seamen  are  to  receive 
what  is  due  them,  only  on  condition  that  they  will  take 
a  large  part,  say  seventy-five  or  eighty  per  cent  of  the  whole 
amount,  in  clothing  at  .the  tailor's  prices.  They  do  not 
sign  receipts  for  the  full  amount  of  wages  in  settling,  but 
only  for  so  much  money  advanced  them,  so  as  not  to  com- 
promise the  shipmaster,  who  has  no  right  to  discharge 
them.  The  tailor  then  finds  means  to  inform  the  men  of 
this  arrangement;  and  they  soon  come  for  their  pay,  glad 
enough  to  get  any  thing.  The  captain  then  carries  these 
receipts  to  the  consul's  office  ;  and  they  are,  of  course,  al- 
lowed in  making  up  the  accounts  to  be  transmitted  home. 
By  this  little  piece  of  roguery  the  tarlor  makes  an  enor- 
mous profit,  the  captain  gets  a  nice  new  suit  of  clothes,  and 
poor  Jack  is  branded  as  a  deserter,  and  left  to  shift  for 
himself,  and  get  home  the  best  way  he  can.  This  is  a 
very  common  transaction,  especially  if  a  vessel  makes  a  voy- 
age to  Europe. 


48          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

34.  In  many  instances  where  the  crews  do  not  leave,  the 
same  thing  is  practised  to  some  extent.     A  sailor  wants 
money,  say  twenty-five  or  thirty  dollars;  and  the  captain, 
instead  of  advancing  it  himself,  gives  the  man  an  order  to 
go  to  some  tailor,  who  is  willing  to  give  him  only  about 
twenty  per  cent  of  what  he  calls  for  in  money ;  and  the 
rest  he  must  take  in  clothing,  as  in  the  case  of  desertion. 
As  clothing  is  the  main  thing  that  the  sailor  generally 
wants  to  get  with  his  money,  he  submits  to  the  arrange- 
ment; and  the  captain  gets  a  suit  of  clothes,  as  before,  but 
not  so  good  a  one  as  in  the  case  of  desertion.     In  that  case, 
the  tailor  has  a  double  incentive  to  do  well  by  the  captain, 
and  give  him  large  presents:  for  in  Europe  many  of  them 
keep  shipping-offices,  and  furnish  men  for  the  return  voy- 
ages of  American  ships,  which  gives  them  a  chance  to  han- 
dle large  amounts  in  advanced  wages.     These  tailors  will 
never  ship  men,  if  they  can  help  it,  who  are  not  willing  to 
take  a  large  part  6f  their  advanced  wages  in  clothing;  and 
so  the  poor  miserable  shell-backs  from  one  ship  are  robbed 
in  the  same  manner  while  shipping  in  another.    And  all  this 
rascality  is  carried  on  right  under  the  noses  of  our  foreign 
consuls ;  but  it  does  not  seem  to  excite  any  comments  from 
them.     It  is  true  that  they  are  nearly  impotent  to  hinder 
such  things;  but  they  might  give  an  alarm,  and  let  people 
•know  what  wolves  and  hyenas  surround  them. 

35.  The  effect  of  such  dealing  on  the  minds  of  seamen  is 
necessarily  pernicious.     They  cannot  help  feeling  that  tln-y 
are  not  considered  a  part  of  the  civilized  world,  but  the 
natural   prey  of  every   human   shark   and  cormorant  that 
claims  to  belong  to  society.     Can  it  be  surprising,  then, 
that  they  act  like  brutes  while  on  shore?     What  earthly 
motive  can  a  sailor  have  to  behave  well,  when  he  sees  noth- 
ing but  evil  result  from,  his  conduct,  be  it  good  or  bad? 
His  hand  is,  therefore,  against  every  man,  and  every  man's 


A  VOICE  FKOM  THE  DEEP.          49 

hand  against  him.  He  reels  into  every  grog-shop,  and 
tries  to  efface  memory,  and  drown  the  voice  of  conscience, 
by  pouring  down  streams  of  liquid  fire.  Good  people  shun 
him  in  the  streets  as  they  would  the  pestilence,  and  gravely 
moralize  on  the  awful  depravity  of  sailors.  What  poor, 
blind  creatures  we  are !  and  how  liable  to  err  in  judg- 
ment !  The  sailor's  natural  qualities  of  mind  and  heart 
may  be  as  good  as  our  own.  By  subjecting  our  wheat  to 
one  process,  we  obtain  from  it  the  healthful,  nourishing, 
and  invigorating  "staff  of  life;"  but,  by  fermentation  and 
distillation,  we  can  convert  the  same  article  into  one  of  the 
deadliest  poisons  known  in  the  universe.  Just  so  with  the 
sailor  and  the  rest  of  mankind.  Give  seamen  the  same 
chance  in  life  that  other  men  have,  and  they  would  un- 
doubtedly turn  out  as  well.  If  other  men  have  got  vir- 
tiK!  in  their  possession,  it  is  because  she  was  given  them 
by  those  that  felt  a  generous  interest  in  their  welfare;  and 
it  is  the  duty  of  all  that  have  received  and  appreciated 
such  a  precious  gift  to  be  willing  to  bless  others  in  a  like 
manner.  To  neglect  seamen,  therefore,  because  they  are 
sinful  and  depraved,  shows  both  hypocrisy  and  ingrati- 
tude; and  they  are  crimes  so  foul  and  mean,  that  it  is 
doubtful  if  their  names  were  ever  registered  at  Dean  Swift's 
famous  whispering  office.  Some  one  has  said,  with  consid- 
erable truth,  that  no  human  being  has  yet  been  found  who 
would  acknowledge  himself  guilty  of  them. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  CIRCUMSTANCES,  CHARACTER,  AND  CONDITION  OF 
SEAMEN  (CONTINUED). 

36.  IT  has  already  been  intimated  that  the  accommoda- 
tions for  seamen  on  shipboard  are  often  extremely  bad. 
That  was  especially  the  case  a  few  years  ago,  when  fore- 
castles were  almost  invariably  built  under  the  vessel's 
main-deck,  and  near  the  bows.  Such  forecastles  are  hardly 
ever  tight;  and,  besides  the  discomfort  of  having  his  cloth- 
ing and  bedding  wet  much  of  the  time,  the  sailor  has  to 
breathe,  day  and  night,  in  full  force,  whatever  odors  may 
arise  from  the  cargo,  —  be  it  guano,  petroleum,  hides,  or  mo- 
lasses. These  dogholes  are  also  as  dark  as  Egypt ;  and,  as 
sailors  are  frequently  allowed  no  light  but  what  they  can 
produce  by  burning  salt-beef  and  pork-grease  in  a  tin 
vessel  constructed  for  the  purpose,  it  can,  perhaps,  be  faintly 
imagined  what  an  uninteresting  place  such  a  den  must  be. 
Ho  man  in  his  right  senses  would  ever  think  of  risking  a 
dumb  animal  in  which  he  was  pecuniarily  interested  in 
a  ship's  fore-peak;  for,  if  he  did,  it  would  be  almost  sure  to 
die.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  human  species  can 
endure  more  abuse,  and  live,  than  any  animal  belonging  to 
the  brute  creation.  Cockroaches  and  rats  thrive  well  in 
such  places,  however;  and  so  do  centipedes  and  scorpions, 
if  the  weather  happens  to  be  warm,  and  the  vessel  is  loaded 
with  logwood  or  dry  hides.  The  peculiar  motions  of  a  ship 
are  felt  much  more  severely  iu  the  vicinity  of  the  bows  than 
60 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP.  51 

elsewhere ;  and  that  is  probably  one  reason  why  young  and 
inexperienced  whalemen  are  so  long  afflicted  with  sea-sick- 
ness. It  cannot  be  surprising,  either,  that  men  living  in 
such  dungeons  should  be  subject  to  agues,  rheumatism,  and 
bilious  attacks,  nor  that  they  should  soon  fall  victims  to 
pestilential  diseases  when  the  vessel  happens  to  be  lying 
in  a  malarious  district ;  and  their  discomforts  are  immeas- 
urably enhanced  by  myriads  of  mosquitoes  that  will  not 
suffer  the  sailor  to  rest  a  moment  on  his  miserable  couch. 
If  Mr.  ttergh  should  know  of  any  quadrupeds  as  uncom- 
fortably situated  as  some  sailors  are  with  respect  to  their 
sleeping-accommodations,  he  would  undoubtedly  make  a 
fuss  about  it ;  and  no  man  possessed  of  the  common  in- 
stincts of  humanity  could  blame  him. 

37.  Most  foreign  vessels  are  still  constructed  with  fore- 
castles below ;  but,  within  a  dozen  or  fifteen  years,  many 
American  builders  fit  up  an  apartment  for  the  sailors  in  the 
forward   part   of   what    is    now  called   the    forward-house. 
These  places  are  far  more  comfortable  than  the  others;  for 
on  deck  the  sailor  is  removed  from  the  odors  of  the  cargo, 
and  can  have  sunlight  and  ventilation.     He  is  also  meas- 
urably freed  from  the  presence  of  venomous  reptiles,  which 
crawl  out  of  some  cargoes ;   and,  being  now  where  he  can 
sleep  in  a  current  of  air  to  keep  him  cool,  he  can  use  a  mos- 
quito-net, and  so  free  himself  from  that  plague.     It  is  much 
to  be  feared,  however,  that  Jack  was  never  shifted  on  deck 
from  motives  of  benevolence,  but  simply  to  gain  room  below 
to  stow  merchandise  when  freights  were  high. 

38.  If  a  forecastle  below  is  worse  to  live  in  than  any 
damp   cellar  can  possibly  be,  the  one  on  deck  is  certainly 
not  a  paradise.    Imagine  a  dozen  men,  with  all  their  chests, 
bags,   clothing,   eating  utensils,-  and  bedding,   living  in   a 
room  six  feet  high   by  twelve  feet  square.     Passengers  are 
allowed  by  law  sixteen  superficial  feet ;  and  they,  perhaps, 


52  A   VOICE  FEOM   THE   DEEP. 

have  only  to  endure  the  discomforts  of  a  sea-voyage  once 
in  a  lifetime :  but  no  law  seems  to  avail  for  the  sailor  who 
has  to  go  to  sea  all  his  days.  Some  forecastles  are  a  little 
larger  in  proportion  than  the  one  we  have  described ;  but 
the  extra  room  is  generally  used  to  stow  away  salt  provis- 
ions, chain-cables,  or  something  of  the  sort ;  so  that  the 
sailor  is  actually  worse  off  than  he  would  be  with  a  smaller 
apartment  free  from  those  distasteful  objects.  In  many 
instances,  too,  the  berths  are  constructed  double ;  and  so  it 
frequently  happens,  that  a  clean,  intelligent,  sensitive  boy 
has  to  take  up  his  quarters  with  some  loathsome  wreck 
of  a  man,  afflicted  with  all  sorts  of  chronic  diseases,  and  a 
slave  to  every  evil  habit  and  vice.  If  a  young  man  in 
such  unpleasant  circumstances  should  manifest  any  repug- 
nance towards  the  person  referred  to,  his  evil  passions 
would  immediately  be  aroused,  and  the  poor  fellow  would 
become  an  object  of  dislike,  and  perhaps  of  persecution,  for 
the  remainder  of  the  voyage. 

39.  There  is  seldom  any  thing  like  a  table  in  a  ship's 
forecastle  ;  but  the  food  is  usually  brought  from  the  galley 
in  huge  tin  pans,  and  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  floor, 
where  each  man  is  expected  to  help  himself  with  his  sheath- 
knife,  which,  perhaps,  he  has  been  using  ten  minutes  before 
to  scrape  greasy  spars,  or  to  cut  tarry  ropes.  Each  man 
has  a  small  tin  basin  in  lieu  of  a  plate,  a  quart-pot  to  hold 
tea  and  coffee,  and  an  iron  spoon.  With  these  rude  uten- 
>ils.  and  a  little  help  from  their  fingers  (that  they  can 
seldom  get  fresh  water  enough  to  wash),  they  manage  to 
supply  their  corporeal  natures  with  such  aliment  as  custom 
or  cupidity  will  allow,  and  a  very  slovenly  cook  prepare. 
Some  of  our  fastidious  epicures,  who  declare  that  they 
cannot  possibly  eat  fish  with  a  steel  fork,  might  be  puzzled 
to  know  how  it  is  that  sailors  relish  such  meals.  But  per- 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  53 

haps  what  the  poet  says  maybe  true  on  some  occasions; 
and  this  may  be  one  of  them  :  — 

"  Where  ignorance  is  bliss,  'tis  folly  to  be  wise." 

40.  Then,  again,  as  we  have  just  stated,  there  is  seldom 
much  pains  taken  in  preparing  the  food ;  and  the  quality 
of  the  ingredients  is  generally  very  inferior.  Biscuits  com- 
posed of  rye,  rice,  and  Indian-meal,  baked  as  hard  as 
chalk  ;  salt  beef  and  bones  completely  innocent  of  fat ;  pork 
that  would  do  honor  to  a  soap-boiler's  vat ;  chiccory-coffee ; 
the  cheapest  kind  of  tea;  broken  rice;  kiln-dried  Indian- 
meal;  a  very  little  flour  twice  a  week;  the  poorest  quality 
of  molasses  eked  out  with  salt  water ;  a  very  few  potatoes 
occasionally;  and  split  peas,  beans,  and  vinegar,  —  comprise 
about  the  only  articles  from  which  the  cooks  can  select 
materials  from  which  to  prepare  their  meals.  If  the  cooks 
could  or  would  do  justice  to  what  sailors  have  allowed 
them,  they  would  fare  much  better  than  they  do  now ;  but 
justice  never  seems  to  be  in  the  fashion  when  dealing  with 
sailors.  The  salt  beef  is  hardly  ever  skimmed  while  boil- 
ing; the  beans  are  thrown  into  a  kettle  with  a  junk  of 
pork  (soap-grease),  and  boiled  to  a  jelly ;  the  rice  is  cooked 
in  the  same  manner;  the  potatoes  are  boiled  with  their 
"jackets"  on,  and  left  to  soak  in  the  water;  and  a  hundred 
other  things  done  that  would  be  suggestive  of  emetics  to 
people  living  ashore.  The  cooks  are  not  always  to  blame 
for  such  negligence,  for  frequently  they  have  no  time  to  do 
better.  Some  owners  do  much  better  in  provisioning  their 
vessels  than  the  foregoing  description  would  indicate,  and 
are  quite  liberal  with  flour  and  potatoes,  and  fresh  meat 
in  port ;  but  such  are  not  regular  practitioners.  The  ma- 
jority adhere  rigidly  to  the  old  style,  and  would  as  soon 
think  of  giving  plum-cake  to  swine  as  butter  and  sugar  to 

sailors. 

6* 


54          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

41.  One  bad  consequence  of  the  present  system  of  dealing 
with  sailors  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  they  do  not  know  how 
to  conduct  themselves  in  the  society  of  refined  and  culti- 
vated people ;  and  that  is  another  inducement  for  them  to 
go  to  seamen's  boarding-houses,  where  but  little  notice  is 
ever  taken  of  their  peculiarities.     Such  slovenly  habits  con- 
stantly indulged  in  tend  also  to  lessen  their  self-respect, 
which,  in  the  absence  of  religion,  is  one  of  the  best  safe- 
guards to  human  virtue  and  honor. 

42.  Another  evil  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  a  great 
many  owners,  and  not  a  few  shipmasters,  seem  to  be  very 
much  afraid  they  shall  put  too  much  fresh  water  on  board 
their  vessels;  and  so  the  strictest  economy  has  to  be  used 
to  make  it  hold  out.     This  is  a  great  evil ;  for  it  makes  it 
very  difficult  for  seamen  to  keep  their  persons  and  clothing 
clean.     One  gallon  of  fresh  water  per  day  is  too  little  for 
a   civilized   man  to  keep  himself  in  a  civilized  condition, 
especialty  in  hot  weather ;  but  that  is  all  the  sailor  is  gen- 
erally allowed  for  cooking,  tea,  and  coffee,  and  all   other 
purposes. 

43.  It  can  readily  be  seen,  from  what  has  been  stated, 
that  there  is  but  very  little,  if  any  thing,  in  the  surround- 
ings of  a  sailor,   that  has  any  tendency  to  elevate  him. 
Almost  all  the  influences  which  are  brought  to  bear  upon 
him  are  only  productive  of  evil.     It  is  true  that  he  is  occa- 
sionally brought  into  contact  with   some   benevolent   per- 
sons who  will,  perhaps,   offer  to  take    an   interest  in  his 
moral  and  spiritual  welfare;  but  that  does  not  satisfy  the 
sailor,  nor  hardly  seem  to  reach  his  case.     Abstractions  are 
not  very  tangible    things;    and   what    the  sailor  wan 
something  tangible.     It   may  be  easy  for  some  people  to 
tell  him  that  ho  is  a  vile  sinner,  and  that,  unless  he  re- 
pent,  he   will  be  ruined  and   lost ;    but  how  can   such   a 
declaration  benefit  him  ?     He  knows  that  he  is  ruined  and 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  55 

lost  as  well  as  anybody  else ;  and,  what  is  more,  he  knows 
that  he  has  always  been  so.  If  he  is  told  that  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  the  world  to  save  just  such  sinners  as  he  is,  the 
great  thick  cloud  of  unbelief,  supported  by  a  thousand  fla- 
grant wrongs,  will  not  let  the  light  shine  upon  the  truth : 
so  it  is  nothing  but  an  abstraction  to  hiui.  Perhaps  it 
might  also  stagger  the  faith  of  some  weak-kneed  Christians, 
if  they  were  called  upon  to  tell  him  how  faith  in  Christ 
could  put  him  on  equal  terms  with  themselves,  and  give 
him  a  home  and  a  wife  and  children.  Almost  any  sailor 
•would  be  ready  to  admit  that  religion  might  be  a  very  fine 
thing  for  people  living  ashore,  who  have  friends  and 
houses  and  wives  and  children  aad  sympathy ;  but  he 
cannot  see  how  it  can  avail  much  in  his  case.  He  can  see 
no  remedy,  even  in  Christ,  for  all  the  evils  which  seem  to 
be  so  intimately  connected  with  his  station  in  life;  and 
those  evils,  being  ever  present  with  him,  operate  to  prevent 
him  from  beholding  the  light  that  shines  above  the  portals 
of  heaven.  If  the  sailor  could  see  Christ  in  the  hearts 
of  his  fellow-men,  and  witness  them  making  self-denying 
efforts  to  remove  his  disabilities,  and  make  him  a  man,  he 
would  then  have  an  efficacious  motive  to  believe  in  Christ, 
but  hardly  till  then.  When  Christ  came  upon  the  earth, 
he  went  about  doing  good,  and  convinced  people  of  his 
divine  mission  by  his  labors  of  love  for  their  bodies,  before 
he  undertook  to  convert  their  souls.  So  it  must  be  with 
the  sailor.  He  must  be  able  to  see  Christ's  love  working 
in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  and  behold  them  trying  ear- 
nestly to  remove  all  obstacles  that  prevent  him  from  having 
an  equal  chance  in  the  world  with  themselves;  for  what 
other  pledge  can  ho  have  of  their  good  faith  ?  It  will  not 
do  to  go  from  our  pleasant  homes  to  this  needy  class  of 
men.  and  say  to  them,  "  Be  ye  warmed  and  filled ! "  No 
indeed!  The  life-boat  must  be  launched  and  manned  by 


56          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

true  Christians,  who  are  willing  to  brave  perils,  if  need 
be,  and  privations,  to  effect  their  salvation;  and  then  tin- 
poor  outcasts  may  be  able  to  see  something  tangible  and 
beautiful  in  Christ's  love. 

44.  Before  we  proceed  any  further  with  our  investiga- 
tions, we  will  glance  back,  and  review  some  of  the  things 
which  have  been  said  concerning  those  classes  of  men  who 
are,  by  their  occupations  and  professions,  more  or  less  con- 
nected with  seamen,  lest  a  false  impression  should  be  left 
on  the  minds  of  any  of  onr  readers  whe  may  be  unac- 
quainted with  nautical  affairs;  and,  in  the  first  place,  we 
will  commence  with  the  boarding-master.  Men  and  women 
that  keep  seamen's  boarding-houses  have  generally  the 
credit  of  being  great  rogues;  but  such  is  not  always  tin- 
case.  Doubtless  a  few  of  them  have  as  good  intentions, 
when  they  first  begin  their  business,  as  any  other  class 
of  people  who  are  striving  to  get  an  honest  living  by  serv- 
ing, in  some  manner,  their  fellow-men.  Their  profession 
is  not  necessarily  bad,  —  no  worse  than  a  hotel-keeper's,  a 
barber's,  or  a  baker's.  Seamen  must  board  somewhere;  and 
it  is  a  great  accommodation  to  them  to  have  a  place  to 
live  between  their  voyages.  Some  of  these  bonding-masters, 
too,  have  kindly  dispositions,  and,  in  many  cu-es,  are  will- 
ing to  do  much  for  the  sailor  aside  from  sordid  self-interest. 
Many  of  them  have  actually  lost  money  by  rendering  ;i  - 
sistance  to  those  who  have  been  unfortunate ;  for,  in  some 
instances,  those  unfortunate  ones  have  been  heartless  and 
unprincipled  vagabonds,  who  never  had  any  intention  of 
repaying  their  kind  benefactors,  except  by  the  basest  in- 
gratitude. Quite  a  number  of  these  boarding-house  keep- 
era  have  been  seamen  themselves,  and  know,  from  tlieir 
own  experiences,  how  to  sympathize  with  others  in  their 
privations  and  Bufferings.  Doubtless  there  are  men  among 
them,  who,  according  to  the  dim  light  they  have  received, 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          57 

mean  to  be  honest,  and  to  practise  fair  dealing  as  well  as 
they  can.  It  is  not  by  any  means  the  object  of  this  book 
to  attack  boarding-masters,  or  any  other  class  of  men,  but 
simply  to  present  facts  from  which  we  can  draw  conclu- 
sions as  to  what  causes  the  physical,  moral,  and  spiritual 
degradation  of  the  sailor,  so  that  we  can  intelligently  apply 
remedies  which  will  be  best  calculated  to  remove  the  evils 
te  which  he  is  subjected,  and  elevate  him  to  the  dignity 
of  a  Christian  brother  and  fellow-citizen.  Good  boarding- 
houses  cannot  be  permanently  injured  by  any  such  reme- 
dies ;  but  the  bad  ones  will  be  squelched  without  fail. 

45.  If  what  has  been  said  bears  hard  on  those  scoun- 
drels that  are  and  that  have  been  using  their  best  endeav- 
ors to  ruin  the  bodies  and  souls  of  their  fellow-men  for  the 
sake  of  advancing  what  they  conceive  to  be  their  own  tem- 
poral interests,  it  cannot  be  helped.  The  light  must  shine, 
whomsoever  it  may  offend;  for  such  is  the  will  of  that  Being 
who  has  not  only  commanded  his  children  to  walk  in  the 
light  while  they  have  it,  but  also  to  let  their  light  shine  upon 
the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  which  "are  full  of  the  habita- 
tions of  cruelty."  Light  on  this  subject  will  not  operate  to 
disparage  the  attempts  of  any  honest  and  upright  person 
who  is  trying  to  gain  a  livelihood  by  administering  to  the 
temporal  wants  of  seamen,  but  will  rather  stivngthen  his 
hands.  Those  people  only  whose  deeds  are  evil  hate  the 
light;  and,  when  we  consider  the  effect  which  light  has 
upon  their  works,  we  can  scarcely  wonder  at  their  repug- 
nance. 

4(>.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  in  favor 
of  fair-dealing  landlords,  it  must  be  confessed  they  are  but 
rarely  met  with ;  and  the  majority  are  fully  as  bad  as 
has  been  represented.  Even  in  those  houses  where  hon- 
orable principles  prevail,  as  far  as  money-matters  are  con- 
cerned, there  is  hardly  any  thing  ever  done  to  promote 


58          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

the  moral  and  spiritual  interests  of  seamen.  The  prevail- 
ing influences  in  some  of  the  best  of  these  places  tend 
rather  to  weaken  than  to  build  up  the  cause  of  virtue  in  the 
human  heart. 

47.  It  is  not  so  strange,  however,  as  it  might  at  first 
seem,  that  nearly  all  seamen's  landlords  should  be  men 
that  have  but  little  regard  for  the  higher  and  nobler  inter- 
ests of  life.  The  fact  is,  but  few  of  the  best  people  in 
society  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  keep  a  seamen's  board- 
ing-house; and  they  have  very  sound  reasons  for  declining. 
People  on  shore  are  not  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  sailors 
have  the  reputation  of  being  a  turbulent  and  depraved 
class  of  men ;  and  what  poor  Christian  widow,  keeping  a 
boarding-house,  would  like  to  have  her  moral  sensibilities 
constantly  shocked  by  dealing  with  such  barbarous  crea- 
tures ?  A  great  many  professed  Christians,  and,  it  may  be, 
true  ones  too,  are  not  very  aggressive^ jn  their  characters, 
but  prefer  to  send  substitutes  into  those  fields  of  labor 
where  thorns  and  brambles,  and  poisonous  plants,  must  be 
rooted  up  and  subdued.  They  might  go  there  if  sent  by 
the  Church  or  some  societj';  but  few  would  ever  think 
of  being  so  benevolent  of  their  own  accord :  and  we  can 
hardly  blame  them,  when  we  reflect  that  other  considera- 
tions are  involved,  which  would  deter  most  good  people 
from  engaging  voluntarily  in  any  such  work.  Who  would 
like  to  have  a  parcel  of  swearing,  drunken,  and  licentious 
men  introduced  into  his  family,  especially  if  he  had  little 
children?  It  is  useless  to  say  that  they  might  be  all  con- 
verted, and  induced  to  behave  well.  Some  of  them  might ; 
but  enough  would  remain  bad  to  make  it  extremely  un- 
pleasant and  disagreeable  to  try  to  get  along  with  them  on 
any  terms.  We  see,  therefore,  that  the  conduct  of  the 
sailor  qualifies  the  character  of  his  boarding-house  even 
more  than  the  evil  influences  of  the  boarding-house  affect 
the  character  of  the  sailor. 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          59 

48.  From  what  has  been  said,  we  can  also  rightly  infer 
that  bad  seamen's   boarding-houses   are   not    the   primary 
cause   of  the  sailor's   degradation   and  misery.     They  are 
only   branches  of  the   tree  of  sin,  and  not  the  roots.     As 
branches,   they  produce  very  pernicious   and  bitter  fruits, 
which  contribute  largely  to  increase  the  wretchedness  and 
woe  of  those  "that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships ; "  but,  after 
all,  we  must  seek  farther  if  we  would  find  the  source  of  all 
the  mischief.      We  must  follow  the  tap-root  along  until  we 
find  where   the  little  fibres  elaborate  deadly  poison  from 
the  dark  laboratory  of  the    destroyer.      We    must   probe 
society,  and  see  by  what  means  the  enemy  has  succeeded  • 
in  inflicting  a  wound  that  refuses   to  be  healed  by  any 
remedy  which  has  hitherto  been  tried,  and  will  not  be  mol- 
lified  with   ointment.      Good   boarding-houses,   like    rood 
branches  of  the  tree  of  righteousness,  produce   many  fair 
and  excellent  fruits,   which   may  do  very  well   to  nourish 
a  convalescent  sailor;  but  they  cannot  cure  him.      Nothing 
but  a  copious  flow  of  sap  from  the  roots  can  impart  life  and 
vigor  to  one  so  far  gone  as  he. 

49.  As  good  branches,  producing  many  fair  and  excel- 
lent fruits,  we  may  mention  some  of  our  Sailors'  Homes,  and 
other  institutions  of  like  character,  which  abound  in  some 
of  our  seaport  towns.      They  are  undoubtedly  the  means 
of  accomplishing  an  incalculable  amount  of  good  ;  and  those 
noble  men  and  women  who  first  interested  themselves  to 
make  self-denying  efforts  to  establish  such  places  are  wor- 
thy of  all  praise.     It  is  also  to  be  hoped  that  they  have 
already  seen  good  enough  result  from  their  labors  to  make 
their  hearts  rejoice  in  the  fulfilment  of  some  of  the  sweetest 
promises  of  Scripture;   for,  among  other  things,  the  "chil- 
dren of  light"  are  constantly  assured  that  their  labyor  is  not 
in  vain   in  the   Lord.      Sailors'  Homes,   however,   and  all 
kindred  agencies,  though  they  may  benefit  hundreds,  and 


60  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

perhaps  thousands,  of  individual  seamen,  still  cannot  effect 
a  cure  for  scarcety  any  of  the  special  evils  to  which  they 
are,  as  a  class,  subjected.  The  plaster  is  not  large  enough 
for  the  wound ;  nor  can  it  be  made  large  enough,  even  if 
every  port  had  a  hundred  Sailors'  Homes. 

50.  The  character  of  runners  will  generally  be  found  to 
agree  with   the  character  of  the  houses  which  they  repre- 
sent.    Some  sailors  regard  them  as  merely  an  excrescence 
of  a  bad  boarding-house,  and  not  at  all  necessary  in  a  good 
one.     But  such  a  view  is  not  strictly  correct ;  for  they  are 
frequently  useful  in  assisting  timid  and  bashful  seamen  to 
obtain  situations ;  and,  in  a  variety  of  ways,  such  a  man, 
attached  to  a  good  boarding-house  may  bo  not  only  use- 
ful, but  necessary.     It  is  also  proper  to  mention  that  there 
has  been  considerable  improvement  in  the  character  of  some 
of  the  seamen's  boarding-houses  in  many  of  our  Northern 
seaport  towns  during  the  last  ten  years;  and  the  runners 
behave  much  better  now  than  formerly.     These  improve- 
ments, however,  are  largely  due   to  stringent  laws,  which 
will  not  allow    runners  to  board  vessels  until   after  they 
arrive  at  the  wharves;  and  to  better  police-regulations  than 
we  formerly  had.     It  is  also  found  impracticable  to  des- 
patch vessels  from  the  wharves  Sundays;  and  the  various 
institutions  for  the  benefit  of  seamen  now  receive  the  fos- 
tering care  of  city  governments ;  whereas  they  were  formerly 
obliged  to  shift  for  themselves. 

51.  These  changes  are  great,  and  as  they  should  be ;  but 
still  it  is  doubtful  if  they  contribute  very  much  towards 
actually  improving  the  condition  of  seamen.     There  is  no 
corresponding  change  for  the  better  in  other  parts  of  the 
world ;  and  even  hero  the  aforesaid  laws  and  regulations 
were  probably  made  and  enforced  more  with  a  view  to  pro- 
tect the  public  from  having  to  witness  and  bo  annoyed  by 
shameless  exhibitions  of  depravity  thuu  from  any  just  and 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP,  r         61 

intelligent  appreciation  of  the  obligations  and  duties  of  soci- 
ety to  that  class  of  men  who  are  daily  and  hourly  risking 
their  lives  for  her  welfare.  The  character  of  boarding-houses, 
landlords,  and  runners,  is  and  must  be  intrinsically  the  same 
as  ever,  unless  there  shall  some  change  take  place  in  the 
character,  circumstances,  and  condition  of  seamen,  which 
will  necessitate  a  thorough  reform.  Landlords,  runners, 
and  prostitutes  may  stand  in  awe  of  the  police,  and  try  to 
maintain  an  outside  show  of  decency ;  but  inside  of  their 
peacock's  feathers  they  have  gizzards  like  ostriches,  and 
nothing  would  come  amiss  to  them  which  they  could 
devour. 

52.  The  brokers  employed  to  hire  seamen,  called  ship- 
ping-agents or  shipping-masters,  frequently  exercise  a  very 
bad  influence  upon  them  by  the  methods  which  many 
of  them  adopt  to  get  crews,  and  by  cheating  in  various 
ways.  These  brokers  frequently  have  authority  from  own- 
ers to  pay  off  some  of  the  crews  they  have  shipped ;  and  in 
such  cases  figures  (which  won't  lie)  are  often  so  arranged 
as  to  tell  tales  which  make  poor  Jack's  heart  ache.  Some- 
times, again,  when  men  are  plenty,  and  chances  scarce, 
they  will  extort  a  fee  from  the  sailor,  besides  the  regular 
brokerage  which  they  get  from  the  ship-owner.  This  is  a 
great  evil :  for,  the  fee  being  variable,  the  best  chances, 
of  course,  go  to  the  highest  bidders;  and  the  highest  bid- 
ders are  generally  those  that  are  worth  the  least.  The 
best  men  are  not  very  fond  of  paying  this  fee.  But  board- 
ing-masters that  have  a  parcel  of  drunken  swabs  on  hand, 
that  they  consider  in  debt  to  them,  will  sometimes  pay  lib- 
erally to  get  them  shipped  off;  and  that,  too,  is  one  reason 
why  good  ships  are  so  often  cursed  with  bad  crews.  Mates 
are  frequently  bled  in  the  same  way,  the  fee  for  them  being 
sometimes  as  high  as  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars;  and  any 
officer  who  does  not  feel  disposed  to  uphold  such  a  sharne- 
6 


62          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

less  system  of  corruption,  and  who  has  no  acquaintance 
among  ship-owners,  might  remain  ashore  a  month  without 
being  noticed  by  a  broker,  unless  circumstances  should 
favor  him.  The  evil  is  not  so  much  in  the  fee  itself  as  in 
the  irregularity  of  it.  When  men  are  scarce,  the  broker.-* 
are  glad  to  get  them  without  it,  and  even  call  on  the  owners 
for  blood-money;  but,  when  men  are  plenty,  qualifications 
are  often,  in  a  great  measure,  disregarded,  and  the  best 
places  are  secured  to  the  highest  bidders.  We  see,  there- 
fore, that  the  influence  of  shipping-agents  as  a  class  is 
unfavorable  to  the  development  of  right  principles  in  the 
mind  of  the  sailor.  Many  of  them  not  only  cheat  him 
when  they  can,  but  tell  all  kinds  of  lies  about  the  vessels 
they  are  working  for,  and  the  voyages  they  are  interested 
in ;  and  Jack  is  sure  to  find  them  all  out  eventually, 
which  gives  him  another  lamentable  proof  that  he  was  born 
to  be  the  legitimate  prey  of  all  the  harpies  in  the  world. 
Many  shipping-agents,  however,  do  as  well  as  can  reasona- 
bly be  expected  of  them,  considering  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  placed;  and  the  abuses  for  which  they  are 
directly  responsible  are  small  when  compared  wU,h  many 
others  which  seamen  have  to  endure.* 


*  As  the  shipping-agents  are  now  superseded  by  the  shipping-commission 
ers,  it  may  be  thought  unnecessary  to  retain  this  section;  but  it  yet  remains  to 
be  Been,  whether  they  will  do  much  better  than  their  predecessors  did.  The  same 
temptations  are  before  them;  and  there  is  no  valid  reason  to  give  why  a  mmi 
appointed  by  the  government  should  prove  more  virtuous  than  one  who  is  not. 
The  head  commissioners  In  the  different  ports  may  possibly  retain  their  integ- 
rity; and,  as  a  new  broom  sweeps  clean,  their  utaff  officers  mny  do  well  for  a 
while;  hut  it  will  be  a  miracle  indeed,  if  they  do  not  soon  prove  as  corrupt  as 
those  that  have  just  been  compelled  to  retire  before  them.  As  long  as  the  sailor 
is  physically,  morally,  and  spiritually  corrupt,  just  so  long  will  he  be  surrounded 
by  vultures  and  hyenas :  but  put  him  in  harmony  with  nature,  and  all  of  his  as- 
sociations will  quickly  regulate  themselves  to  his  new  standpoint  in  society ;  and 
the  lion  will  quickly  learn  to  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  It  should  be  remembered, 
too,  that  our  commissioners  have  no  jurisdiction  out  of  the  United  States,  where 
most  of  our  shipping  and  discharging  is  practically  done.  —  Sec  SECTION  34. 


A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP.  63 

53.  Another  thing  which  goes  to  prove  to  seamen  that 
landsmen  are  sharks  and  hypocrites  is  the  treatment  which 
they  often  receive  at  the  hands  of  some  of  our  foreign  con- 
suls.    Some  of  these  officials  are  humane,  well   educated, 
and  intelligent,  and  perhaps  every  way  worthy  of  the  posi- 
tion  they  have   attempted  to   fill ;   but   it  is  to  be  feared 
there  are  many  among  them  who  are  inclined  to  seek  iheir 
own  instead  of  another's  wealth.     Broken-down  merchants 
that  have  failed  in  business,  and  who,  perhaps,  were  never 
burdened  with  honesty,  will  sometimes  contrive  to   get   a 
number  of  respectable  names  attached  to  their  petitions  to 
the  government  for  an  office  which  will  give  them  a  good 
living,  a  respectable  position  in  society,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  remove  them  as  far  as  possible  from  the  scene  of  their 
former  mishaps ;  and  they  are  very  apt  to  succeed.     Many 
of  these  men  know  and  care  but  very  little  about  the  rights 
or  the  wrongs  of  seamen,  but  have  an  eye  continually  to 
replenishing   their   pockets    before    the    next    presidential 
election.     They  use  every  expedient  to  extort  money  from 
both  shipmasters  and  seamen;  and,  instead  of  facilitating 
commercial   enterprises   for   their   countrymen,   they  only 
place  obstacles  in  the  way.     Innumerable  are  the  instances 
in   which   consuls   and  their  deputies    have   wronged  sea- 
men ;  and  so   their  influence   for  good  cannot  rate   much 
higher  than  the  boarding-masters'  or  the  shipping-agents.' 
There  are,   doubtless,  many  excellent  men   among  them ; 
but  they  generally  manage  to  keep  their  excellences  far 
away  from  the  vulgar  gaze  of  seamen. 

54.  A  great  many  people  seem  to  think  that  ship-owners 
are  primarily  responsible  for  most  of  the  evils  which  sea- 
men have  to  endure.     They  say  that  if  merchants  would 
see  that  their  ships  were   sea-worthy,  and  provided   with 
ample   accommodations  for  their  crews,   much    discomfort 
would  be  avoided ;  if  they  would  be  careful  to  put  on  board 


64          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

an  adequate  supply  of  good  nourishing  food,  and  pay  the 
men  well,  they  would  be  contented  and  happy ;  and  if  they 
would  go  a  step  further,  and  select  honest,  upright,  and,  as 
far  as  possible,  religious  men  for  officers,  there  could  then 
be  nothing  else  left  to  be  desired ;  and,  if  sailors  would  not; 
then  improve,  it  must  be  their  own  fault.  This  view  of  the 
case,  plausible  as  it  seems,  is  liable  to  grave  objections. 
It  is  not  intended  to  shield  ship-owners  from  their  just 
responsibilities ;  but  it  can  readily  be  shown  that  there 
is  a  limit  to  what  merchants  can  do,  far  more  circumscribed 
than  is  generally  supposed. 

55.  Ship-owners  are  generally  thought  to  be  immensely 
rich,  and  sometimes  such  a  supposition  is  true ;  but  then  it 
does  not  necessarily  follow  that  they  can  all  afford  to  pay 
high  wages,  besides  expending  large  sums  in  providing 
things  for  seamen's  comfort,  when  the  state  of  their  busi- 
ness will  not  warrant  such  indulgences.  They  cannot  do 
it  simply  because  they  are  rich ;  for,  if  a  rich  man  con- 
stantly pays  away  more  than  he  receives,  he  will  soon  cease 
to  be  wealthy ;  and  those  versed  in  maritime  affairs  know 
that  it  is  extremely  awkward  for  a  ship-owner  to  be  poor. 
Vessel-property  has,  of  late  years,  been  about  the  poorest 
of  any;  and,  unless  something  is  speedily  done  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  relieve  our  merchants,  ship-building  in  the 
United  States  must  soon  be  practically  numbered  with  the 
lost  arts. 

5G.  Supposing,  tljen,  that  merchants  should  conclude  to 
enhance  the  cost  of  running  their  ships  thirty  per  cent., 
for  the  express  purpose  of  benefiting  seamen:  what  must 
necessarily  be  the  result?  Would  not  such  a  measure 
speedily  destroy  the  whole  commerce  of  the  country,  and 
leave  our  seamen  with  nothing  to  do?  It  must  be  obvi- 
ous, therefore,  to  every  intelligent  person,  that  the  most  that 
any  merchant  can  do,  under  present  circumstances,  will 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  65 

only  be  to  give  his  attention  to  such  means  of  improve- 
ment as  will  tend  to  alleviate  some  of  the  woes  and  discom- 
forts of  sailors,  and  not  cost  too  much  money.  And  here 
it  must  be  confessed  that  many  of  them  are  sadly  at  fault, 
—  as  much  so,  perhaps,  as  the  landlords,  the  brokers,  and 
the  consuls,  whose  conduct  we  have  already  had  occasion 
to  notice.  Money  is  the  objective  point  to  which  all  own- 
ers direct  their  attention ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that 
some  of  them,  in  their  greed  for  gain,  neglect  all  the  nobler 
faculties  of  their  souls,  and  sacrifice  their  whole  lives  at 
Mammon's  unholy  shrine. 

57.  Such  men,  if  they  own  ships,  merely  regard  them  as 
a  pecuniary   investment,   valuable   only   according   to    the 
dividends  which   they  pay.     The   comfort   and   happiness 
of  the  crews  they  employ  never  enters  into  their  calcula- 
tions ;  for  they  only  regard  seamen  as  tools  to  work  with  for 
the   accomplishment   of  their  own    selfish    purposes;    and 
they  are  constantly  contriving  how  to  make  them  service- 
able with  the  least  possible  expense.     Some  of  these  soul- 
less men  connive  at,  and  even  encourage,  the  unlawful  dis- 
charge of  seamen  in  foreign  ports,  where  cheaper  help  can 
be  obtained  ;  and  they  likewise  have  recourse  to  every  other 
expedient  which   their  ingenuity  can  suggest  to  save  for 
themselves  a  few  paltry   dollars  at  the    expense   of  poor 
Jack's  health,  comfort,  and  happiness.     Such  meanness  is 
truly  despicable ;  but  it  is  astonishing  to  what  low  things 
some  people  can  stoop  when  they  have  neither  religion  nor 
honor  to  strengthen  their  poor  weak  backbones. 

58.  Merchants,  on  the  whole,  however,  compare  favora- 
bly in  society  with  any  other  class  of  men.     Some  of  the 
greatest  enterprises  for  the  benefit  of  sailors  have  originated 
almost  entirely  with  them  ;  and  many  a  noble  man  who  has 
amassed  wealth  by  industriously  following  mercantile  pur- 
suits has  rendered  his  name  illustrious  by  his  timely  con- 

6* 


66          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

tributions  to  the  various  objects  of  benevolence  which 
abound  in  all  civilized  communities.  Thousands  of  people 
in  our  land  will  never  cease  to  give  thanks  that  the  world 
has  been  blessed  by  the  self-sacrificing  benevolence  of  such 
rich  men  as  Cooper,  Forbes,  Peabody,  Fearing,  Stewart, 
and  Rousevelt;  and  it  may  be  possible  with  God  for  even  a 
camel  to  pass  through  a  needle's  eye. 

59.  Ship-owners  are  clearly  responsible,  however,  for  not 
providing  suitable  accommodations  on  board  of  their  ves- 
sels for  sailors,   and   also  for  not   supplying  them  with   a 
sufficient  quantity  of  good  wholesome  food  and  water.     It 
is  likewise  criminal  in  merchants  to  send  rotten  and  unsea- 
worthy  vessels  on  voyages  where  they  are  liable  to  be  lost 
on  account  of  their  weakness ;  for,  although  they  may  se- 
cure   themselves    from    damage    by    getting   such    vessels 
insured,  it  is  not  so  with  the  sailor.     With  the  merchant 
it  is  only  a  matter  of  a  few  dollars  and  cents;  but  with  the 
sailor  it  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death.     Such  vessels  are 
sent  to  sea  quite  often;  and  sometimes,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
on  purpose  to  get  rid  of  them.     Whoever  tempts  Provi- 
dence in  this  manner,  merely  for  purposes  of  gain,  incurs 
a  most  fearful  responsibility,  even  if  the  voyage  should  ter- 
minate successfully ;  for  the  motive  would  be  the  same  in 
both  cases. 

60.  Some  owners  demonstrate  that  they  have  but  little 
regard  for  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  their  crews  by 
hiring  tyrannical  and  disagreeable  men  for  officers.     It  is 
very  true,  that,  in  selecting  officers,  the  utmost  pains  should 
be  taken  to  secure  energetic,  enterprising,  and  competent 
men  in  the   first  place ;  but  when  a  man  is  known  to  be 
brutal,    unprincipled,    and    tyrannical,    his    bad    qualities 
should  not  be  overlooked  simply   because  he  is  a  proper 
man  to  make  money.     Doubtless  there  are  merchants  that 
would  hire  Satan  himself  to  do  their  business  if  he  would 


A   VOICE   PROM   THE   DEEP.  67 

only  promise  them  handsome  dividends ;  and  they  would 
not  care  much,  either,  what  means  he  used  to  make  money, 
as  long  as  they  could  be  sure  that  he  would  shoulder  his 
own  legal  responsibilities.  Such  men  excuse  the  brutality 
of  their  officers,  if  the  subject  is  ever  alluded  to  in  their 
presence,  by  saying  that  he  is  a  nice  man,  a  very  good 
fellow ;  only  he  is  a  little  cross  when  he  is  annoyed  by  the 
unreasonable  stupidity  of  sailors.  "He  is  a  little  quick- 
tempered," say  they ;  when,  perhaps,  the  scoundrel  has 
been  the  cause  of  more  misery  than  a  whole  lifetime  of  pen- 
ance could  atone  for.  And  cases  are  not  wanting  in  which 
these  miscreants  have  been  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree,  and  still  continued  in  office. 

61.  It  should  be  remembered  here,  that  it  always 
makes  a  wide  difference  who  the  parties  are,  when  any 
event  out  of  the  usual  order  takes  place  at  sea.  If  passen- 
gers have  been  ill  treated  in  any  manner,  or  their  lives 
rendered  unsafe  by  the  criminal  neglect  of  merchants  and 
shipmasters,  there  is  immediately  a  general  cry  raised  for 
a  thorough  investigation;  and  so  ready  are  people  in  such 
cases  to  jump  at  conclusions  detrimental  to  the  characters 
of  officers  and  merchants,  that  much  injustice  is  frequently 
done  by  the  promptings  of  unreasoning  prejudice.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  a  ship  is  lost,  and  many  seamen  perish,  or 
if  any  thing  else  happens  in  the  course  of  a  voyage  preju- 
dicial to  their  interests,  but  very  little  notice  is  ever  taken 
of  it.  It  is  generally  thrust  into  some  obscure  corner 
of  the  newspapers,  and  just  glanced  at  by  the  casual  reader, 
who  does  not  feel,  perhaps,  that  he  lias  any  particular  inter- 
est in  unimportant  events  which  transpire  in  Behring's 
Straits  or  the  Mozambique  Channel. 

G2.  The^e  is  no  doubt,  however,  but  that  some  ship- 
owners do  try  to  have  honest  and  humane  men  take  charge 
of  their  vessel-,;  and  many  of  these  shipmasters  reflect 


68  A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

great  credit  on  their  profession  by  their  unceasing  efforts 
to  do  good.  Some  of  these  men  are  intelligent  and  well- 
educated,  and  would  no  more  think  of  taking  a  mean 
advantage  of  a  sailor  than  of  cutting  off  their  right  han<ls. 
Coining  into  direct  contact  with  him  in  business  afl'uirs, 
and  always  dealing  honestly  and  fairly,  leaves  an  impres- 
sion on  his  mind  for  good,  which  cannot  readily  be  effaced. 
The  sailor  is  thus  often  made  to  feel  that  there  may  still  be 
such  a  thing  as  virtue  in  the  world,  though  he  has  been  so 
often  put  off  with  its  counterfeit. 

63.  We  must  remember,  however,  that  good  shipmas- 
ters and  officers  are  the  exception,  and  not  the  rule.  The 
majority  in  all  countries  are  more  or  less  depraved;  and 
when  we  come  to  inquire  into  the  different  methods  used  t  > 
make  them,  we  shall  hardly  wonder  that  the  Prince  of 
Darkness  has  the  best  chance.  Bad  as  things  are  now 
conducted  on  board  of  many  of  our  ships,  there  are  yet 
cases  in  which  good,  intelligent  boys  choose  a  seafaring 
life,  and  stick  to  it  in  spite  of  all  the  ill-treatment  they 
receive.  Being,  in  many  cases,  the  disciples  of  the  sab- 
bath school,  and  perhaps  graduates  of  the  high  school, 
if  not  of  some  college,  their  early  associations  help  them 
very  much  to  resist  and  overcome  those  vices  and  pollu- 
tions which  are  the  ruin  of  so  many  young  sailors.  When- 
ever such  young  men  happen  to  get  in  ships  where  their 
exemplary  conduct  is  appreciated  by  those  above  them,  they 
soon  get  ahead,  and  finally  make  the  best  shipmasters  we 
have,  —  men  who  are  every  way  worthy  of  the  honor, 
iv.-pect,  and  love  usually  bestowed  upon  them  by  their  fel- 
low-men. Would  that  there  were  more  of  them !  Would 
that  all  the  officers  on  board  of  our  ships  were  kind-hearted, 
conscientious,  and  intelligent  men.  Alas!  they  are  not. 
There  are  not  enough  to  select  from ;  and  so  the  majority 
come  from  the  most  capable  men  that  the  forecastle  affords 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP.  69 

(without  much  regard  being  paid  to  their  dispositions  and 
characters),  and  from  the  ranks  of  those  fast  young  men  who 
manage,  by  means  of  their  father's  money,  to  crawl  into 
the  cabin-windows  and  into  a  great  many  other  places 
which  they  are  naturally  much  better  adapted  for  than 
going  to  sea. 

64.  It  seems  strange  that  men  who  have  been  ground 
down  by  the  most  relentless  oppression  for  a  great  number 
of  years  should,  in  their  turn,  make  the  worst  of  tyrants 
whenever  they  are  delegated  with  the  power.  One  would 
naturally  suppose  that  a  sailor  taken  from  the  forecastle 
would  be  the  very  man  to  feel  for  the  condition  of  those 
he  might  leave  behind;  but  such  is  very  seldom  the 
case.  It  seems  as  though  any  system  of  oppression  and 
wrong  to  which  ignorant  men  are  subjected  has  a  tendency 
to  harden  their  natures,  and  render  them  more  intensely 
selfish  and  disagreeable.  With  intelligent  and  educated 
persons  the  case  might  be  very  different ;  but  it  is  certainly 
true,  that  when  any  of  the  poor,  hardened  wretches  that 
are  usually  denominated  "  growls  "  in  a  ship's  forecastle  get 
to  be  officers,  those  they  leave  behind  are  more  to  be  pitied 
than  ever;  that  is,  if  the  men  thus  selected  possess  much 
force  of  character.  Quite  a  number  of  officers  are  selected 
from  crews  in  this  way:  for  it  frequently  happens  that  a 
shipmaster  finds  himself  short  of  officers  when  placed  in 
circumstances  where  he  can  do  no  better  than  pick  a  man 
from  the  crew  as  a  temporary  expedient;  and  most  of  these 
transient  officers  try  hard  to  keep  out  of  the  forecastle  for- 
ever after,  and  generally  succeed.  When  such  a  man  finds 
he  can  maintain  his  position  as  second  mate,  he  will  fre- 
quently, if  he  happen  to  bo  young  and  ambitious,  try  to 
acquire  enough  knowledge  of  the  art  of  navigation  to  enable 
him  to  navigate  a  ship  indifferently  well  ;  and  then  he  is 
ready  for  a  mate's  berth.  A  long  experience  as  mate  of  a 


70  A   VOICE  FROM   THE   DEEP. 

vessel,  and  some  contact  with  cultivated  people,  prepares 
the  way  for  his  becoming  master  when  an  opportunity 
occurs;  and  in  this  way  the  major  part  of  our  shipmas- 
ters get  their  positions. 

65.  These  men  are  very  apt  to  bring  their  vices  along 
with  them  ;  but  they  are  all  subjected  to  a  refining  process. 
Thus,  instead  of  drinking  rum  and  whiskey,  they  must  have 
Madeira  and  Champagne ;  a  clay  pipe  is  exchanged  for  the 
inevitable  cigar;   and,  in  visiting  houses  of  ill-fame,  they 
are  careful  to  bestow  their  patronage  on  those  only  where 
the  furniture  and  surroundings  are  all  pleasing  to  the  eye, 
and  where  the  inmates  have  only  gone  a  few  of  the  first 
stages  on  the  road  to  death.     It  is   noteworthy,  however, 
that  shipmasters,  even  of  this  latter  description,  generally 
marry  before  they  are  fifty  years  of  age  ;  but,  when  they 
have  been  very  vicious  in  youth,  they  seldom  make  faith- 
ful husbands.     It  is  related  of  the  strange  woman,  that 
"none   that   go   unto  her  return  again;   neither  take  they 
hold  of  the  paths  of  life."     And  observation,  as  well  as  reve- 
lation,    teaches   us,    that,    in   most   cases,    it   is    certainly 
even  so. 

66.  What,  then,  can   be   expected  of  such   men   when 
they  become  shipmasters?      Can  we   expect   selfish    and 
vicious  men  to  become  unselfish  and  pure  minded,  merely 
because  their  position   happens  to   be   changed  a  little? 
No:    not  unless  the  heart  be  changed,  can  we  reasonably 
expect  any  good  to  result   from  the   actions  of  men   who 
have  been  trained  up  in  the  school  of  vice,  and  become 
sublimated  in  the  ways  of  sin. 

67.  There    are   some   circumstances,   however,   in   favor 
of  an  improvement  in  the  moral  character  of  officers,  even 
though  their  antecedents  may  be  bad.     We  have  noticed 
that   many  of  them   get    married,   especially  the  captains; 
iind  when  this  event   is  not  consummated  too  late  in  life, 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          71 

and  the  object  of  the  affections  is  possessed  of  a  good  moral 
character,  the  fires  of  sanctified  love  often  prove  sufficiently 
powerful  to  rouse  up  all  the  latent  faculties  of  the  soul ; 
which,  under  the  stimulus  of  affection,  re-acts  in  favor  of 
purity  and  virtue,  until  at  length  the  individual  is  brought 
within  the  domain  of  conscience,  and  becomes  a  thoroughly 
reformed  and  virtuous  man.  Even  in  those  cases  where 
the  conduct  of  the  wife  exerts  no  positive  influence  for 
good,  if  there  are  children,  their  innocent  prattle  and 
harmless  mirth  have  a  wonderfully  humanizing  effect,  bring- 
ing the  heart  and  mind,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  under 
the  magic  influence  of  love ;  and  so  the  way  is  often 
paved  for  truth  to  come  in,  and  ingraft  upon  the  soul  many 
of  those  sweet  and  lovely  graces  which  are  the  offshoots 
of  the  tree  of  life.  In  very  many,  if  not  in  most,  in- 
stances where  both  parties  have  missed  the  path  of  virtue 
in  youth,  their  union  is  attended  with  some  degree  of  ben- 
efit ;  at  least  to  the  parties  immediately  concerned.  It  is 
fearful  to  contemplate  their  offspring,  which  are  so  often 
enstamped  by  abused  and  outraged  Nature  with  the  awful 
lineaments  of  sin  ;  but,  even  with  that  drawback  to  their 
happiness,  the  parties  are  undoubtedly  infinitely  better  off 
married  than  they  would  be  pursuing  their  former  road  to 
ruin,  —  a  path  that  can  have  but  one  termination,  —  the 
utter  destruction  of  soul  and  body. 

68.  We  see,  then,  that  the  influence  of  woman,  if  she  is 
not  actually  depraved  and  vicious,  conspires  powerfully  to 
elevate  man  under  any  circumstances.  The  sexes  were 
made  for  each  other ;  and  nothing  but  evil  can  ever  result 
from  keeping  them  apart.  We  shall  yet  have  occasion 
to  show  that  it  is  through  and  by  the  agency  of  woman 
that  we  hope  to  obtain  our  most  efficacious  means  for  the 
physical,  moral,  and  spiritual  regeneration  of  seamen. 

G9.  It  must,   then  lore,   be   apparent  to  every  one,  that 


72  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

there  are  some  good  influences  to  which  men  are  more 
exposed  as  officers  than  they  are  in  the  capacity  of  seamen. 
Besides  the  inestimable  privilege  of  often  having  a  wife, 
their  increased  means,  and  the  respectability  attached  to 
their  official  positions,  and  many  other  advantages  in  their 
favor,  all  have  a  tendency  to  make  them  cherish  self- 
respect,  and  many  other  sentiments  powerfully  conducive 
to  human  virtue. 

70.  On  the  other  hand,  the  advanced  position  of  the 
shipmaster  exposes  him  to  temptations  which  he  felt  only 
in  a  very  slight  degree  before.  He  now  finds  that  money 
is  the  prize  coveted  by  his  employers,  and,  apparently,  by 
most  of  the  world  besides.  He  has  accustomed  himself  to 
respect  their  maxims,  and  execute  their  commands,  many 
of  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  are  dictated  by  un- 
righteous motives.  In  such  a  school  he  frequently  learns 
to  be  unscrupulous  in  the  methods  which  he  uses  to  get 
gain,  either  for  himself  or  his  owners;  and  at  length  be- 
comes such  a  proficient  in  the  art  of  knavery,  that  lie 
hardens  hit  heart  to  all  the  demands  of  justice,  love,  and 
mercy,  excepting,  perhaps,  where  he  sees  his  own  interests 
concerned,  as  in  the  case  of  his  friends  and  family.  While 
absent  on  his  voyages,  he  will  resort  to  all  kinds  of  expe- 
dients to  make  money  at  the  expense  of  sailors,  or  any 
others  whom  he  finds  incapable  of  protecting  themselves, 
or  of  doing  him  any  injury  in  return.  He  will  sometimes 
take  advantage  of  the  improvident  habits  of  seamen,  and 
also  of  their  misfortunes;  and,  when  he  finds  they  are  suf- 
fering for  clothing,  he  will  offer  them  enough  to  supply 
their  present  needs  at  a  profit  of  perhaps  two  or  three 
hundred  per  cent.  He  will  also  join  hands  with  shipping1- 
agents,  tailors,  and  consuls'  clerks,  and  divide  with  them 
all  the  money  which  can  in  any  possible  way  be  wrung  out 
of  the  victimized  mariner. 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          73 

71.  Shipmasters  and  officers  who  treat  their  men  in  this 
manner  cannot,  of  course,  have  any  respect  for  them ;  and 
so  they  act  accordingly.     The  sailor  is  regarded  simply  as 
a  machine  to  make   money  with,  that  needs  no  repairs  j" 
and  so  he   is  taxed  to  his  utmost  capacity  of  endurance. 
He  is  treated,  in  many  respects,  worse  than  any  dumb 
animal  would  be,  for  the  simple  but  singular  reason  that 
he  is  a  thinking,  intelligent  being,  possessed  of  rational 
faculties   which    can    respond    to    abusive    treatment   with 
bitter  feelings  and  a  broken  spirit ;  whereas  it  would  effect 
but  little,  even  in  the  eyes  of  a  tyrant,  to  abuse  an  inoffen- 
sive brute,  which  could  have  no  appreciation  of  his  motives. 
There  are  many  inhuman  beings,  however,  that  seem  to 
delight  in  torturing  dumb  animals,  as  common  observation, 
and  the  records  of  one  of  our  most  useful  societies,  can 
abundantly  testify. 

72.  At  this  present  day,  the  greater  part  of  our  shipmas- 
ters who  command  foreign-going  ships  make   a  constant 
practice  of  keeping  both  watches  on  deck  in  the  afternoon, 
on  their  passages  out  and  home ;  and  they  will  continue  to 
do  so  until  they  are  compelled  to  desist.     A  sailor  is  always 
obliged  to  spend  one-half  of  his  time  in  the  service  of  the 
vessel,  no  matter  what  the  weather  may  be;  and  this  ar- 
rangement seems  unavoidable :  but  there  is  no  occasion  for 
keeping  him  at  work  three  or  four  hours  longer  every  day, 
unless  something  unusual  takes  place.     No  landsman  would 
like  to  be  obliged  to  attend  to  business  fifteen  hours  out 
of  every  twenty-four,  and  be  harassed  about  Sundays  be- 
sides. 

In  port,  sailors  are  almost  invariably  obliged  to  work 
from  daylight  until  dark ;  but  there  seems  to  be  more  rea- 
son for  that,  as  their  work  is  useful :  but  at  sea,  much  of 
their  extra  work  is  absolutely  vain  and  silly,  and  does  not 
benefit  anybody.  Some  owners  buy  up  a  lot  of  old  junk 
r 


74          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

which  is  hardly  fit  to  make  oakum,  and  put  it  on  board  their 
vessels  to  be  worked  over  into  spun-yarn.  Half  a  dozen 
sailors  will  be  "kept  up"  a  week,  perhaps,  to  make  a  coil 
that  would  not  fetch  a  dollar  at  auction ;  and  many  other 
like  things  they  are  compelled  to  do,  while  they  might  and 
ought  to  be  improving  their  minds  by  reading,  or  washing 
and  mending  their  clothes  to  make  them  comfortable.  It 
is  not  objected  that  a  sailor's  work  at  sea  is  generally  very 
hard,  but  that  he  is  required  to  devote  too  many  hours  to 
it,  which  leaves  him  no  time  for  any  thing  else  but  sleep. 
We  see  that  they  are  required  to  spend  fifteen  hours  out 
of  every  twenty-four  in  the  service  of  the  vessel.  Add  an 
hour  and  a  half  more  for  their  meals,  and  it  leaves  them 
seven  hours  and  a  half  to  themselves;  and  we  presume 
that  the  most  of  them  would  require  as  much  as  that  for 
sleep.  What  would  our  mechanics,  that  are  so  anxious  to 
establish  an  eight-hour  system  of  labor,  think  of  such  an 
arrangement  as  that?  How  would  they  like  to  be  confined 
to  their  work  still  another  eight  hours,  and  have  a  part 
of  them  come  in  the  night?  And,  in  addition  to  all  this, 
how  would  they  like  to  realize  that  they  neither  had  a 
home,  nor  the  remotest  prospect  of  one?  We  think,  that, 
under  such  depressing  circumstances,  many  of  them,  as 
well  as  the  sailors,  would  be  tempted  to  have  recourse  to 
the  bottle,  and  "  turn  spirit  down  to  keep  spirit  up." 

73.  But  it  is  often  said  that  sailors  are  not  kept  so  busily 
at  work  for  the  pecuniary  profit  that  results  from  their 
labors,  but  merely  to  keep  the  scurvy  out  of  their  bones, 
and  to  prevent  grumbling.  Indeed !  Then,  why  is  it  that 
shipmasters  do  not  grumble,  and  have  the  scurvy  ?  If  we 
examine  history,  we  shall  find,  that  from  the  times  of  Cook, 
Anson,  and  La  Perouse,  commanders  have,  as  a  class,  been 
remarkably  free  from  the  scurvy ;  and  that  it  has  been 
almost  entirely  confined  to  their  neglected,  misused,  and 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          75 

ill-fed  crews.  As  to  keeping  sailors  out  of  mischief  by 
hard  work  and  abuse,  that  is  all  twaddle.  A  plenty  of  good 
vegetables  and  water  would  be  a  far  better  specific  for  the 
scurvy,  and  a  library  of  good  books,  with  maps,  pencils, 
and  paper,  and  time  to  use  them,  a  much  more  rational 
means  to  prevent  grumbling.  Some  owners  might  not 
think  that  their  interests  would  be  best  served  by  libraries 
and  vegetables ;  but  that  is  because  selfishness  always  was 
and  always  will  be  near-sighted.  Many  of  them  seem  to 
be  nearly  blind  to  the  fact  that  an  intelligent,  well-behaved, 
and  efficient  crew  is  one  of  the  main  things  to  be  secured 
in  order  to  conduct  a  voyage  successfully.  The  money  lost 
by  a  single  collision,  where  a  harassed,  sleepy,  and  discon- 
tented sailor  failed  to  keep  his  lookout  properly,  would  buy 
more  than  a  thousand  libraries,  or  load  a  dozen  vessels  with 
potatoes. 

74.  There  are  many  shipmasters  who  actually  esteem  it 
an  honor  to  bully  and  tyrannize  over  those  who  may  be  so 
unfortunate  as  to  sail  with  them.     In  conversation  these 
petty  tyrants  are  always  boasting  about  the  prowess  they 
have  displayed  in  pugilistic  encounters ;  and  some  of  them 
act  as  though  they  thought  that  the  surest  way  to  rise  in 
the  estimation  of  their  owners  would  be  to  gain  a  reputa- 
tion for  exactness  and  cruelty.     They  would  not  have  it 
thought  that  they  are  naturally  cruel,  but  made  so  by  the 
stupidity,    slowness,  and   bad  behavior   of  sailors.     They 
would  try  and  make  it  appear,  that,  but  for  their  own  per- 
sonal vigilance  and  extraordinary  skill,  their  vessels  could 
not  sail  a  mile  without  disaster. 

75.  It  must  now  be  obvious  to  all  readers  that  have  fol- 
lowed us  thus  far,  that  bad  officers  on -a  long  voyage  are 
a  terrible  calamity  to    poor  Jack ;    and    it    is    no   wonder 
that  ships  commanded  by  such  miscreants  should  be  de- 
nominated "  hells  afloat ; "  nor  is  it  surprising  that  good  sea- 


76  A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

men  should  avoid  such  vessels  as  they  would  a  pestilential 
disease.  There  has  been  some  legislation  that  was  intended 
to  protect  seamen,  and  the  courts  are  apt  to  sympathize 
with  them ;  but  still  the  rascality  is  carried  on,  and  the 
worst  villains  nearly  always  manage  to  go  unpunished. 
The  fact  is,  it  is  a  matter  which  cannot  be  very  well  reached 
by  legislation,  unless  it  be  of  a  different  character  from  any 
which  has  yet  emanated  from  Congress. 

76.  It  is  astonishing  how  ignorant  our  national  repre- 
sentatives  are   of  the  wants   and   necessities   of  seamen. 
Here  are  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  of  the  most  deserv- 
ing of  our  fellow-citizens,  who,   if  they  had  families  the 
same  as  other  men,  would  represent  half  a  million  of  our 
population;  and  not  a  single  soul  to  plead  their  cause  intel- 
ligently, or  represent  them  in  Congress.     Our  senators  and 
representatives,  even  from  our  seaboard  States,  know  about 
as  little  concerning  the  practical  life  of  a  sailor  as  they  do 
of  the  inmates  of  the  Great  Mogul's  seraglio ;   and  that 
surely  is  not  much.      These  are  the  very  men,  too,  who 
bring  us  all  our  necessaries  and  luxuries  from  foreign  lands, 
—  the  men,  too,  that  choked  the  South  to  death  in  the 
secession  war,  —  the  men,  too,  whose  life-blood  would  be 
required,  in  case  of  a  European  war,  to  keep  our  enemies 
at  bay.     Of  these  men,  their  wants  and  necessities,  con- 
gressmen know  and  realize  but  little. 

77.  There  are  but  very  few,  if  any,  office-seekers  and 
lobbyists  from  among  sailors.     It  is,  indeed,  but  very  sel- 
dom that  they  can  even  get  a  chance  to  vote ;  and  then 
they  think  it  hardly  worth  their  while.     A  poor,  honest, 
but  unfortunate  shipmaster  seldom  gets  a  lighthouse   to 
keep,  or  any  other  position  under  the  government,  which 
can,  in  any  possible  way,  be  filled  by  the  scrambling  ver- 
min that  are  as  eager  to  grab  every  thing  of  the  kind  as 
catfish  are  to  seize  the  contents  of  a  table-cloth.     There 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          77 

are  honest,  upright,  and  intelligent  men  in  the  country 
who  have  spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  at  sea.  Why 
should  not  the  lighthouse-keepers,  some  of  the  custom-house 
officers,  and  other  officials,  be  selected  from  among  them  ? 
It  is  actually  disgusting  to  have  a  young  sprig  of  a  lands- 
man, who,  perhaps,  was  never  exposed  to  a  storm  in  his 
life,  rush  down  into  a  vessel's  cabin  on  her  arrival,  with  his 
hat  on,  and  cry  out,  "  Halloo,  cap !  Let's  see  your  papers! 
Got  any  cigars  ?  Any  good  brandy  ?  "  &c. 

78.  It  may  be  said  that  such  officers  must  be  had;  and 
if  seafaring  men  will  not  step  forward,  and  present  them- 
selves, others  must  be  taken.     That  seems  to  be  a  pretty 
good  excuse ;  but   it  argues  badly,  we  think,  for  the  ten- 
dency of  republican   institutions.      There   is  a  fitness   to 
things;  and  a  cattle-drover  would  be  as  much  out  of  place 
officiating  as  secretary  of  the  navy  as  a  sailor  would  deal- 
ing with  the  Sioux  Indians  as  peace-commissioner.     If  sea- 
faring men  are  not  intelligent  enough  to  be  light-keepers 
and  custom-house  officers,  that  is  quite  another  thing ;  but 
then  "who  is  to  blame?"      We  shall  see  by  and  by.     The 
landsmen  can  have  the  custom-house  a  while  longer,  and 
the  lighthouses,  too,  for  that  matter ;  but  seamen  must  be 
had  to  keep  the  lightships.     It  seems,  then,  that  necessity 
can  find  them,  if  justice  cannot. 

79.  It  is  not  intended  by  the  foregoing  remarks  to  cast 
obloquy  on  our  custom-house  officials,  or  those  that  ap- 
pointed them.     Many  of  them  are  no  doubt  excellent  men, 
and  might  shine  in  some  of  the  various  trades  and  profes- 
sions which  abound  in  our  midst ;  but  it  does  not  seem 
hardly  proper  that  so  many  should  addict  themselves  to 
maritime  affairs  without  some  knowledge  of  the  first  rudi- 
ments of  a  seaman's  profession, — without  so  much  as  know- 
ing how  to  dig  clams.     Collectors  should  see  to  this,  and 
ask  every  applicant  for  office  if  it  would  be  best  to  dig 

7* 


78  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

clams  at  high  or  low  water.      Doubtless  many  of  them 
would  say,  "  Sibboleth." 

80.  Be  that  as  it  may,  however,  and  laying  all  jesting 
aside,  it  is  surely  a  matter  worthy  the  attention  of  public 
men ;  for  why  should  seamen  be  altogether  excluded  from 
remunerative  offices,   as  well  as  ostracized  from  society? 
Allowing  that  it  is  much  easier  to  take  applicants  from 
other  trades   and   professions   for  every  thing,    does  that 
make  it  right  and  proper,  or  even   expedient?      Would 
it  not  help  to  make  seamen  virtuous,  if  they  could  see  that 
even  a  few  of  their  number  were  kindly  noticed  by  those 
in  authority  under  the  government  ? 

81.  If  it  be  said  that  seafaring  men  would  sympathize 
with  their  former  companions,  and  encourage  a  little  smug- 
gling, we  reply,  that  if  that  is  true,  why  not,  on  the  same 
principle,  send  sailors  on  shore  to  collect  the  internal  reve- 
nue, for  fear  that  landsmen  should  sympathize  with  lands- 
men ?      Are  sailors  naturally  more  dishonest  than  shore 
people?  and,  if  so,  what  makes  them?     We  shall  yet  have 
occasion  to  show  that  many  of  the  irregularities  of  which 
seafaring  men  are  manifestly  guilty  can  be  traced  directly 
to  the  present  system  of  dealing  with  them,  which  almost 
presupposes  that  they  are  all  thieves,  liars,  and  sniugglers, 
and  sends  unsympathizing,  and  sometimes  predaceous  de- 
tectives to  watch  them  narrowly,  and  seize  every  silk  dress, 
accordion,  and  bed-spread  with  which  the  poor,  wretched 
outcasts  from  society  propose  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  their 
female  acquaintances,  whom  the  nature  of  their  occupation, 
and  the  want  of  means,  will  hardly  ever  allow  tbem  to  see. 
It  may  be  that  the  female  friends  of  sailors  have  no  right 
to  have  silk  dresses.      And  perhaps  some  people  cannot 
realize  what  it  is  to  leave  a  pleasant  home  forty  or  fifty 
times  in   a  lifetime,   and   spend  their  weary  weeks   and 
months   and  years  ploughing  salt  water  for  the  benefit 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  79 

of  others  :  but  it  is  time  that  somebody  gave  their  attention 
to  those  things ;  it  is  time  that  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  seamen  should  be  clearly  denned,  and  proper  regulations 
made  to  save  them  from  the  supposed  necessity  of  having 
to  practise  fraud  and  concealment  to  keep  their  little  pres- 
ents to  their  wives,  mothers,  and  sisters,  out  of  the  clutches 
of  those  unsympathizing  land-sharks  and  small  politicians 
that  now  compose  quite  a  large  per  cent  of  the  officials  in 
some  of  our  custom-houses. 

82.  Be  it  distinctly  understood,  however,  that  we  do  not 
say  a  word  in  favor  of  giving  seamen  free  permits  to  en- 
courage smuggling,  but  to  vindicate  a  command  that  was 
given  a  long  time  ago,  and  the  moral  bearing  of  which  is 
worthy  of  a  moment's  reflection  :    "  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle 
the  ox  which  treadeth  out  the   grain."     People  who  are 
caught  smuggling  should  be  punished  severely ;  but,  if  a 
seafaring  man  buys  a  few  little  things  abroad  for  his  own 
family,  he  should  be  allowed  to  pass  them  free  of  duty  if 
the   value   is  not  excessive.      It  could  be  easily  arranged 
so  that  but  little  damage  would  result  from  these  small 
leaks ;  and  much  good  would  be  done  if  sailors  could  be 
made  to  see  that  they  were  accounted  worthy  of  a  little 
consideration  by  their  countrymen. 

83.  We  have  now  discussed  the  principal  of  the  sailors' 
business-relations,  and  found  them  all  wanting.     Let  us 
turn  our  attention  to  the  sailors  again  for  a  short  space, 
and  take  a  retrospective  view  of  the  situation  before  we 
proceed  to  inquire  what  remedies  may  be  available  to  alter 
the  present  state  of  things,  and  give  seamen  something 
like  an  equal  chance  in  life  with  other  people. 

84.  Some  may  think,  that,  as  this  book  treats  principally 
of  the  wrongs  of  seamen,  it  may,  perhaps,  leave  an  unfair 
impression  on  the  minds  of  those  who  have  had  no  oppor- 
tunities of  knowing  any  thing  about  them  by  personal  con- 


80          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

tact.  They  would  say,  perhaps,  that  the  hright  side  of  a 
sailor's  life  should  be  exhibited  at  the  same  time,  and  with 
equal  fidelity;  so  that  a  one-sided  view  of  the  picture  need 
not  bias  the  judgment.  Such  reasoning  is  plausible,  and 
should  be  adopted  if  possible ;  but  what  can  be  done  when 
there  is  no  bright  side?  Let  any  landsman  who  has  spent 
twenty  years  in  the  bosom  of  a  Christian  family,  loved 
and  respected  by  his  neighbors,  enjoying  all  the  rights  of  a 
freeman,  and  the  privilege  of  going  to  the  house  of  God  on 
the  sabbath,  —  we  say,  let  such  a  man  "ship"  for  a  sea- 
man on  board  of  one  of  our  East-Indiamen,  and  be  sub- 
jected to  the  same  treatment  that  his  shipmates  receive, 
and,  if  a  year's  voyage  does  not  convince  him  that  a  sailor's 
life  is  what  many  have  termed  it,  a  "dog's  life"  then  we 
must  conclude  that  such  a  person  cannot  be  in  his  right 
mind,  or  else  he  must  be  a  subject  of  total  depravity  —  if 
there  is  such  a  thing. 

85.  Yes :  let  any  man  with  a  correct  taste  be  forced  to 
live  like  a  common  sailor ;    let  him  have   the  same  food, 
served  up  in  the  same  manner,  the  same  sleeping  accom- 
modations, and  the  same  abuse  from  day  to  day ;   add  to 
this    the   swearing,  the    obscene  and    foul   language,  and 
all  the  loathsome  habits  of  his  companions, — and  it  would 
be  nearly  enough  to  drive  him  crazy.     He  would  feel  far 
worse  than  Livingstone  felt  in  the  Valley  of  the  Leeambye, 
away  from  all  signs  of  Christian   civilization,  and  in  the 
midst  of  heathenish  savages.     Those  savages  were  gener- 
ally friendly  to  him ;  but  such  is  not  always  the  case  with 
the  savages  on  board  of  a  ship. 

86.  No:   there  is  but  little  fear   that   the   picture  will 
be  overdrawn.     The  plain  facts  are,  that,  in  the  most  of  our 
ships,  men  are  compelled  to  submit  to  a  great  amount  of 
profane  and  abusive  language  from  their  officers ;  that  they 
have  to  work  a  third  longer  than  almost  any  other  class  of 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  81 

men,  when  there  is  no  occasion  for  it ;  that  they  generally 
have  food  given  them  of  the  poorest  quality,  and  served  up 
in  a  manner  that  ought  to  make  swine  blush;  that  they 
are  unnecessarily  restricted  in  the  quantity  of  fresh  water 
allowed  them ;  that  they  are  compelled  to  work  Sundays,  more 
or  less ;  that  they  receive  but  little  respect  from  their  officers, 
and  give  as  little  as  they  can  help  in  return;  that  their  pay 
is  so  low,  and  they  are  so  often  out  of  employment,  that  it 
takes  a  very  large  share  of  what  they  can  get  to  pay  the 
boarding-master;  that  they  can  have  no  female  society 
but  the  worst  kind;  that  they  are  obliged  to  pay  a  large 
hospital-fee,  for  which  the  most  deserving  get  no  adequate 
return ;  that  they  have  to  fee  shipping-agents  in  many 
cases;  that  they  are  robbed  and  abused  by  each  other; 
that  they  are  compelled  to  hear  each  other's  fearful  lan- 
guage ;  that  they  are  sometimes  compelled  to  sleep  to- 
gether; that  they  are  tempted  to  do  wrong  by  nearly  every 
one  they  come  in  contact  with ;  that  they  cannot  have  any 
families  for  the  want  of  means ;  and,  consequently,  they  can- 
not have  any  wives,  sons,  daughters,  nor  property.  They 
must  drag  out  a  miserable  existence  between  their  voyages, 
their  boarding-houses,  and  the  brothel ;  and,  if  the  sharks 
and  dissecters  do  not  get  their  shattered  hulks  before  they 
have  lived  half  the  allotted  time  of  man  upon  the  earth, 
they  must  spend  a  cheerless  old  age  in  some  almshouse  or 
sailors'  snug-harbor,  with,  perhaps,  not  one  that  they  can 
really  call  a  friend  upon  the  earth. 

87.  No :  sailors  cannot  look  ahead  to  any  encouraging 
prospect  in  this  life.  Every  thing  looks  dark  and  gloomy 
in  the  future.  A  sailors'  snug-harbor  and  an  almshouse 
are  the  most  cheering  objects  on  the  mental  horizon  of  the 
sailor.  Where  shall  we  look  for  a  bright  side  to  this  pic- 
ture ?  Is  it  not  enough  to  cover  the  whole  canvas  ?  Are 
not  the  outlines  bad  enough,  without  rubbing  on  paint  and 


82          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

varnish  ?  And  yet  the  half  is  not  told.  We  have  in  our 
mind's  eye,  to  illustrate  some  of  the  horrors  we  have  but 
faintly  alluded  to,  a  story,  which  we  will  not  repeat,  from 
motives  of  delicacy,  but  to  which  some  of  the  words  of 
Shakspeare  are  very  applicable :  — 

"  I  could  a  tale  unfold,  whose  lightest  word 
Would  harrow  up  thy  soul." 

88.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  there  can  be  no  help 
for  sailors,  unless  they  will  help  themselves.     People  have 
so  many  affairs  of  their  own  to  attend  to,  that  they  cannot 
be  expected  to  take  much  interest  in  the  concerns  of  oth- 
ers.    There  are  hardships  to  be  borne  by  every  one ;  and 
it  is  the  lot  of  all  men  to  toil.     How,  then,  can  seamen, 
except  by  their  own  efforts,  expect  to  be  elevated,  and  "car- 
ried to  the  skies  on  flowery  beds  of  ease  "  ?     Such  reason- 
ing may  appear  plausible  to  the  thoughtless  and   unre- 
flecting ;  but  it  will  never  do.      "  I  am  my  brother's  keep- 
er" is  a  law  of  God  founded  in  the  nature  of  things;  and 
woe  betide  the  man  who  does  not  obey  it  to  the  letter  !     We 
are  not  to  think,  that,  because  we  may  be  subjected  to  a  few 
trilling  annoyances  ourselves,  it  is,  therefore,  no  business 
of  ours  if  others  are  in  distress  and  perishing,  —  it  may  be 
afar  off.     We  must  hunt  up  the  lost  sheep,  and  relieve 
their  distresses.     We  must  do  our  Best  to  banish  sin  and 
sorrow  from  the  world,   else  we  practise  gross  hypocrisy 
when  we  pray  for  the  advancement  of  the  Master's  king- 
dom. 

89.  But  is  it  not  an  old  maxim  and  a  true  one,  that 
"  charity   begins   at  home "  ?      How  can  we   devote   our 
attention  to  evils  afar  off,  when  so  many  real  or  imaginary 
distresses  exist  all   around  us  ?      How  can  sailors  get  a 
hearing,  when  so  many  politicians,  lecturers,  and  philan- 
thropists are  rending  the  air  with  tales  of  lamentation  and 


A  VOICE  FEOM  THE  DEEP.          83 

mourning  and  woe?  The  complaints  on  file  for  a  hear- 
ing at  the  bar  of  public  opinion  are  so  numerous,  that  it 
almost  seems  like  effrontery  to  burden  the  calendar  with 
any  more ;  but  still  they  come.  Some  petition  that 
women  shall  be  encouraged  to  vote ;  others  are  clamoring 
for  an  eight  (not  a  fifteen)  hour  law;  some  are  worried 
about  the  Ku-Klux,  and  want  government  to  investigate 
matters  in  the  South ;  and  a  thousand  other  things,  all 
home-affairs,  and  some  of  them  very  important  too. 

90.  What  need  is  there,  then,  for  going  abroad  to  find 
objects  of  sympathy  and  distress,  when  so  many  exist  all 
around  us,  —  even  at  our  doors  ?     There   is   need  for  it. 
The  wrongs  of  seamen  affect  society  at  large,  and  even  the 
state  and  nation.     Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that 
they,  directly  or  indirectly,  cause  more  misery  and  distress 
than  any  one  evil  that  has  existed  for  a  hundred  years, 
if  we  except  war,  intemperance,  and  professed  slavery.     We 
say  professed  slavery,  for  the  sailor  is  but  little  better  than 
a  slave,  and,  in  many  respects,  worse  situated.     That  is  a 
pretty  broad  statement,  we  acknowledge ;  but  we  have  seen 
and  shall  see  how  it  is  verified  by  facts.     We  have  already 
glanced  at  some  of  the  principal  ones;  but  it  will  be  impos- 
sible to  give  them  all.    'The  ramifications  of  evil  are  so 
various,  that  we   can  hardly  mention  one  that  is  not,  in 
some  way,  connected  with  all  others. 

91.  The  effects  of  good  actions  are  likewise  as  diffusive 
as  the  light,  and  as  enduring  as  truth.     "As  the  small 
pebble  stirs  the  peaceful  lake,"  so  a  marked  improvement 
in  the  character,  condition,  and  circumstances  of  any  one 
class  of  men  belonging  to  a  community,  would  infallibly 
benefit  all  the  others.     If  a  man  otherwise  warmly  clothed 
should   be   compelled    to    walk    barefooted   on   the   frozen 
ground,  not  only  his  feet,  but  his  whole  physical  and  men- 
tal nature,  would  suffer;  and,  if  not  speedily  relieved,  he 


84  A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

might  take  cold  and  die.  But,  if  he  was  timely  supplied 
with  good  warm  shoes  and  stockings,  his  feet  would  soon 
get  comfortable ;  and  all  of  his  other  members  would  rejoice 
with  sympathy,  and  again  perform  their  functions  with 
ease  and  pleasure.  So  it  would  be  with  the  sailor  if  he 
was  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  other  men.  He  would 
not  only  be  happy  himself,  but  his  elevation  must  neces- 
sarily effect  a  favorable  change  through  all  the  circles  of 
society.  Thousands  must  rise  or  fall  with  him  ;  for  it 
should  ever  be  remembered,  that,  whatever  is  done  for  the 
sailor,  his  connections  in  business-affairs  will  remain  nearly 
the  same. 

92.  The  elevation  of  seamen  would  also  assist  powerfully 
to  solve  many  of  the  questions  which  have  hitherto  per- 
plexed legislators  and  philanthropists,  as  we  shall  see  by 
the  following  illustration :    The  advocates  for  woman-suf- 
frage tell  us,  that,  if  women  could  have  the  ballot,  it  would 
tend  to  inaugurate  a  state  of  things  which  would  do  much 
towards  removing  the  "  social  evil,"  which  is  acknowledged 
to  be  the  ruin  of  thousands  of  the  female  sex  every  year. 
Without  intending  to  say  a  word   either  for  or  against 
woman-suffrage,  we  must  affirm  that  we  think  there  is  a 
remedy  for  the  "social  evil"  far  more  speedy,  effectual, 
and  practicable  than  any  which   that   movement  contem- 
plates,—  a  remedy  which  will  be  thorough  and  durable, 
and  equally  beneficial  to  both  sexes.     We  will  just  men- 
tion it  now,  and  discuss  it  more  at  length  in  the  succeeding 
chapters. 

93.  The  rule  for  the  suppression  of  the  "  social  evil "  can 
be  laid  down  with  mathematical  precision,  and  is  derived 
from  the  old  axiom  that  it  takes  an  ounce  to  balance  an 
ounce.     Here  it  is  :  Provide  the  one  or  two  hundred  thou- 
sand seamen  who  navigate  the  vessels  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  millions  that  navigate  those  of  other  countries, 


A   VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  85 

with  the  means  to  support  families,  and  the  temptation  for 
an  equal  number  of  women  to  become  public  prostitutes 
will  be  diminished  in  nearly  an  equal  ratio.  A  hundred 
thousand  women  in  the  United  States  might  thus  not  only 
be  saved  from  being  exposed  to  lives  of  sin  and  shame,  but 
be  transformed  into  wives  and  mothers ;  positions  which 
all  well-constituted  and  unperverted  girls  of  twenty  would 
rather  fill  than  have  all  the  ballots  in  creation.  Those 
women  would  not  only  thus  be  saved,  but  their  hus- 
bands, in  like  manner,  would  be  rescued  from  nearly 
as  bad  a  fate,  and  transformed  into  respectable  and  happy 
men. 

94.  From  the  ranks  of  such  men  we  could  hope,  in  time, 
to  be  able  to  select  officers  that  would  be  skilful  and  capa- 
ble; and  the  number  of  casualties  at  sea,  involving  the  loss 
of  lives  and  property,  would  thereby  be  very  nnich  dimin- 
ished. Thousands  of  native-born  Americans  would  thus  be 
added  to  our  seafaring  population,  which  would  be  a  source 
of  national  pride;  whereas  now  there  is  not  one-half  of 
them  even  naturalized.  By  diminishing  the  number 
of  houses  of  prostitution  in  this  way,  it  would  be  easier  to 
deal  with  intemperance ;  for  lewdness  is  always  his  best 
customer.  Improve  the  condition  of  seamen  in  this  man- 
ner, and  we  should  be  less  concerned  about  our  sons,  many 
of  whom  may  have  a  preference  for  a  seafaring  life.  It  is 
useless  to  say,  that,  if  they  go  out  with  good  principles, 
they  will  do  well  enough.  They  cannot.  One  bad  apple 
in  a  barrel  would  infect  all  the  rest  in  some  degree.  What, 
then,  can  we  expect  when  all  are  bad  but  one?  would  it 
be  likely  to  keep  sound  long  ?  —  about  as  sound  as  Lot's 
family  kept  in  Sodom.  "Evil  communications  corrupt 
good  manners ; "  and  it  therefore  becomes  us  to  see  to  it 
that  our  children  are  not  unnecessarily  exposed.  Very  few 
of  them,  going  to  sea  under  present  circumstances,  would 


86  A   VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP. 

entirely  escape  contagion;  and  the  great  majority  would 
contract  vices  which  make  us  shudder  to  contemplate. 

95.  We  have  now   enumerated  a  few  of  the  principal 
blessings  which  might  result  from  giving  the  sailor  means 
to  support  a  family;  and  what  avast  difference  there  is 
between  the  actual  state  of  things  as  revealed  on  some 
of  the  preceding  pages,  and  what  might  be  if  sailors  were 
paid  as  well  for  their  work  as  the  humblest  artisan,  or  even 
the  -day-laborer !     We  have  seen,  also,  how  it  helps  to  solve 
one  of  the  problems  which  the  advocates  for  woman-suf- 
frage hold  up  as  a  reason  why  woman   should  have  the 
ballot.     We  have  already  intimated  that  we  have  no  desire 
to  discuss  the  woman's  rights  question  ;  but  we  will  ven- 
ture it  as  our  opinion,  that  the  very  best  thing  which  can 
be  done  for  a  young  woman  is  to  provide  her  with  a  hus- 
band :  and,  when  all  the  soldiers  and  sailors  in  the  country 
are  furnished  with  the  means  to  support  families,  a  very 
large  percentage  of  the  single  women  will  have  one  of  their 
dearest  and  most  important  "  rights  "  accorded  them ;  and 
the  few  poor  seamstresses  that  remain  will  have  more  fami- 
lies to  work  for,  and  less  competition.     It  is  from  woman 
that  we  expect  the  most  efficient  help  in  our  efforts  to  bless 
the  sailor.     Not  until  she  goes  to  him  with  words  and 
deeds  of  sympathy  and  love,  will  he  ever  have  courage  to 
reclaim  his  manhood,  and  break  the  chains  which  his  adver- 
saries have  forged.     Woman  must  yet  be  his  angel  of  deliv- 
erance ;  but  we  hope  and  trust,  that,  in  the  end,  she  will 
receive  a  hundred-fold  more  blessings  than  he. 

96.  We  have  assumed  that  there  is  really  no  bright  side 
to  a  sailor's  life ;  but  perhaps  that  statement  requires  a 
little  explanation.     We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  sailors  are 
never  mirthful,  or  that  they  never  indulge  in  the  pleasures 
of  hope  the  same  as  other  men.     They  are  proverbially  a 
philosophical  set  of  fellows,  and  generally  regard  almost 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          87 

every  passing  event  as  something  out  of  which  they  can 
manufacture  amusement.  What  we  do  mean  to  say  is 
this :  There  is  but  little,  if  any  thing,  in  the  condition  and 
circumstances  of  the  sailor,  that  has  any  tendency  to  ele- 
vate him ;  and  his  mirth  and  hilarity  are  nothing  but  the 
ephemeral  pleasures  which  all  people  of  happy  dispositions 
derive  from  the  effect  which  various  passing  events  have 
upon  their  natures,  and  must  not  be  confounded  with  hap- 
piness in  the  highest  signification  of  that  word.  An  out- 
cast from  society,  a  slave  to  lust  and  intemperance,  a  victim 
to  fraud  and  oppression,  a  sufferer  from  shipwrecks  and 
misfortunes,  with  scarcely  any  of  the  hopes  to  animate 
him  which  other  men  are  wont  to  cherish,  he  now  comes 
before  a  great,  prosperous,  and  comparatively  happy  peo- 
ple, earnestly  desiring  to  be  fed  with  some  of  the  crumbs 
which  fall  from  the  public  table  of  God's  bounties  to  the 
nation  :  and  who  can  say  him  nay  ? 

Something  has  been  done  for  him  already,  — done  by  noble 
men  and  women  whose  hearts  God  has  evidently  touched, 
and  who  are  worthy  of  the  lasting  love  and  gratitude 
of  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  will  now 
notice  some  of  the  works  they  have  done,  which  is  neces- 
sary to  a  complete  understanding  of  the  subject  before  us. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BETHEL   INFLUENCES  ;    LIBRARIES    AT   SAILORS'    HOMES. 

97.  IT  would  seem  that  the  moral  and  spiritual  condi- 
tion of  seamen  has  not  attracted  the  attention  of  the  reli- 
gious world  until  within   a   comparatively  recent   period. 
The  biographical  and   historical   accounts   of  matters    in 
which  sailors  bore  a  part  during  the  last  century  indicate 
that  a  worse  state  of  things  existed  then  than  now.     Even 
the  traditions  that  came  down  to  us  from  our  grandparents 
go  to   show  that   sailors   in   their  day  were  regarded  as 
a  peculiar  sort  of  genii  by  themselves,  more  allied  to  sea- 
monsters  than  to  the  human  species.     Most  of  the  special 
efforts  which  have  been  made  to  reclaim  seamen  from  their 
state  of  heathenish  ignorance   and  moral  degradation  have 
originated  within  the   last   half-century.      The    Seaman's 
Friend  Society  is  probably  the  largest  enterprise  of  the 
kind  in  America;   but  there  are  many  others,  all  working 
with  the  same  object  in  view,  which  is  to  give  to  seamen 
the  glorious  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  save  them,  as 
much  as  possible,  from  unhallowed  influences. 

98.  In  these  enterprises,  as  well  as  in  all  others  of  a 
similar  nature,  men  are  from  time  to  time  raised  up,  and 
seemingly  have   their   education   controlled   by  particular 
dispensations  of  Providence,  so  that  they  shall  be  qualified 
to   fill   positions  which   require  uncommon  abilities,    and 
which  are  often  fraught  with  trials,  perplexities,  and  dis- 
couragements,—  positions  where  the  prejudices  of  men  are 

88 


A  VOICE  FBOM  THE  DEEP.          89 

to  be  overcome,  and  the  standard  of  truth  planted  amid  the 
strongholds  of  error. 

99.  The  seaman's  cause  has  developed  a  few  of  these 
peculiarly  gifted  ones,  —  men  of  unflinching  courage,  which 
no  discouragements  could  abate  ;  and  having  faithfully  ac- 
complished their  mission,  and  served  their  day  and  genera- 
tion, many  of  them  have  now  gone  home  to  receive  their 
final  reward :  but  the  results  of  their  labors  still  remain  with 
us,  and  will  continue  to  bear  fruit  until  the  end  of  time. 
Two  or  three  of  these  men  we  now  propose  to  introduce  in 
order  to  exemplify  our  subject.     Their  names  are  still  well 
known  in  commercial  circles,  and  on  every  sea  where  the 
American  flag  is  unfolded  to  the  breeze. 

100.  One  of  these  mighty  men,  who  has  but  just  now 
gone  over  the  "  river  of  death,"  was  the  Rev.  E.  T.  Taylor 
of  Boston,  better  known  to  seamen  by  the  more  endearing 
and  familiar  appellative  of  "  Father  Taylor."     He  was  born 
in  Richmond,  Va.,  near  the  close  of  the  last  century ;  but 
the  beginning  of  his  life  is  so  much  enveloped  in  mystery, 
that  the  date  of  his  birth  cannot  be  fixed  with  precision ; 
and  it  is  even  uncertain  who  his  parents  were.     His  ear- 
liest recollections  placed  him  among  the  seafaring  men  that 
were  attached  to  the  small  vessels  navigating  the  waters 
of  the  Chesapeake;  and  from  thence  he  increased  the  length 
of  his  voyages  as  his  years  increased,  until,  at  length,  we 
find  him  in  a  privateer  which  was  operating  against  Brit- 
ish commerce  during  the  last  war  with  England.     He  was 
taken  prisoner  on  one  occasion,  and  carried  into  Halifax, 
where  he  met  with  a  kind  old  lady  who  acted  like  a  mother 
to  him,  and  gave  him  a  Bible.     Some  time  after  this  event, 
he  happened  to  be  in  Boston ;  and,  while  strolling  down 
Bromfield  Street,  his  attention  chanced  to  be  attracted  by 
some  people  going  to  the  Methodist  chapel  there,  and  he 
made  bold  to  go  in  with  them.     He  was  there  converted 

8* 


90          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Elijah  Hedding;  and,  al- 
though an  illiterate  and  uneducated  man,  he  soon  com- 
menced his  missionary  labors  among  seamen,  and  met  with 
remarkable  success.  Hundreds  crowded  to  hear  the  sailor- 
preacher;  and  at  length  the  merchants  of  Boston,  and  some 
other  benevolent  individuals,  were  prevailed  upon  to  build 
him  a  church,  where  he  continued  to  preach  and  labor  with 
great  zeal  and  success  until  near  the  end  of  his  days.  His 
beloved  wife  died  but  a  short  time  before  him,  and  he 
probably  felt  the  blow  severely.  She  was  a  very  remarka- 
ble woman,  and  every  way  worthy  to  be  the  wife  of  such 
a  man  as  Father  Taylor.  She  entered  heart  and  hand  into 
all  of  his  undertakings,  and  was  herself  the  honored  means 
of  accomplishing  an  incalculable  amount  of  good,  being 
a  wife  and  "a  mother  in  Israel"  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
those  significant  and  delightful  words. 

101.  Father  Taylor's  church  was  composed  of  but  few 
members,  and  they  were  usually  men  from  some  of  the  low- 
est walks  in  life ;  but  they  were  generally  all  earnest  work- 
ers, and,  however  deficient  they  might  be  in  this  world's 
goods,  they  were  rich  in  faith,  and  valiant  for  the  truth 
upon  the  earth.     They  formed  a  nucleus,  around  which 
clustered  thousands  that  waited  to  hear  their  testimony 
concerning  the  new  life,  which  they  declared  that  God  was 
willing  to  infuse  into  every  soul  that  might  be  longing  for 
deliverance  from  sin,  and  for  hopes  that  would  reach  be- 
yond the  grave.     We  say  thousands ;  but  we  do  not  mean 
that  any  thing  like  that  number  ever  attended  on  his  min- 
istrations at  one  time.      His   congregations  were  largely 
composed   of  seamen,   who   were   constantly   coming   and 
going;  so  that,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  the  number 
of  different  individuals   might  not  only  be  reckoned  by 
thousands,  but  by  tens  of  thousands. 

102.  Before  Boston  was  as  strictly  governed  as  it  now 


A  VOICE  FROM  TEE  DEEP.          91 

is,  these  bethel  churches,  situated,  as  they  generally  are, 
in  bad  localities,  were  subject  to  great  annoyances  from 
bad  boys  and  other  malicious  persons,  who  would  throw 
stones  against  the  windows,  and  shout  and  scream,  during 
the  services.  Father  Taylor  was  well  qualified  to  deal 
with  such  disturbances ;  and  he  frequently  made  capital 
of  them  to  illustrate  his  discourses.  Once,  when  the  shout- 
ing from  an  adjoining  alley  was  almost  deafening,  he 
stopped  in  his  sermon,  and  suddenly  exclaimed,  "  There ! 
you  see  the  Devil  is  jealous !  He  knows  there  is  good 
going  on  here,  and  he  is  very  mad  about  it."  And  then 
he  proceeded  with  his  discourse  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. Sometimes  a  bevy  of  abandoned  females  would 
come  mincing  up  one  of  the  aisles,  bare-headed,  and  with 
their  arms  and  neck  naked,  hoping  to  disturb  the  meet- 
ing ;  but  he  would  generally  nonplus  them  with  some  obser- 
vation of  Solomon's  about  the  strange  woman,  interspersed 
with  a  few  quaint  remarks  of  his  own.  Indeed,  Father 
Taylor  was  just  the  man  to  deal  with  rough  natures,  and 
conquer  the  innumerable  difficulties  with  which  he  was 
beset  in  his  day.  His  nautical  experience  in  early  life 
enabled  him  to  appreciate  a  sailor's  wants  and  necessities ; 
and  his  iron  will  and  resolute  bearing  gave  him  a  command 
over  men  which  was  truly  marvellous.  The  sailor,  always 
accustomed  to  render  implicit  obedience  to  authority,  could 
hardly  resist  the  impassioned  appeals  of  the  lion-visaged 
old  man,  who  almost  commanded  him,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  to  become  a  Christian.  Nor  was  it  sailors  alone  that 
came  from  afar  to  hear  him.  Men  and  women  of  scholarly 
attainments  often  made  their  way  thither,  drawn  by  the 
magnetic  influences  of  a  man  whose  eloquent  reasoning 
could  affect  the  understanding  at  the  same  time  that  his 
resistless  sympathy  melted  the  heart. 

103.  The  good  man  has  now  gone  to  his  last  resting- 


92          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

place,  and  his  mantle  has  fallen  upon  a  most  excellent 
young  man  named  George  S.  Noyes,  who  was  for  some 
time  Father  Taylor's  assistant.  He  is  hardly  like  his 
predecessor  in  belligerent  propensities,  and  may  not  be 
quite  so  well  qualified  as  Father  Taylor  was  to  wage  an 
offensive  warfare  against  the  Prince  of  Darkness  on  his  own 
grounds ;  but  in  goodness  of  heart,  earnestness  of  purpose, 
and  zeal  for  the  cause  of  truth,  he  is  quite  up  to  the  mark, 
and  will  probably  succeed  as  well  as  Taylor.  The  times 
are  changing;  and  it  may  be  that  the  young  man  is  better 
adapted  for  what  is  coming  than  one  more  like  the  revered 
man  who  has  just  left  us  would  be.  When  sailors  come  to 
respect  themselves,  and  have  families  the  same  as  other 
men,  an  amiable,  cultivated  man  for  a  sailor's  minister 
would  doubtless  be  preferable  to  one  who  had  always  been 
accustomed  to  sleep  with  his  armor  on  in  the  enemy's  coun- 
try, "fighting  the  Devil  with  fire,"  as  the  saying  is. 

104.  Another  excellent  man  died  a  few  years  ago  in 
Boston,  who  spent  the  most  of  his  life  and  talents  in  the 
same  good  cause  as  Taylor.  His  name  was  Phineas 
Stowe ;  and  he  originally  came  from  the  vicinity  of  Plart- 
ford,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut.  He  also  received  from 
sailors  the  honored  and  revered  name  of  "  Father."  There 
was  but  very  little  about  him  that  was  humorous  or  tri- 
fling; but  in  solemn  earnestness  he  worked  as  though  the 
salvation  of  the  world  depended  on  his  own  individual  exer- 
tions. He  preached  and  prayed  and  worked  and  begged 
for  the  benefit  of  sailors.  He  was  not  a  sea-faring  man 
like  Taylor ;  but,  on  the  whole,  he  got  along  very  well  with 
sailors ;  and  much  sorrow  was  felt  and  expressed  for  him 
when  he  died.  In  a  fearful  gale  on  the  north  coast  of 
Ireland,  Father  Stowe  lost  his  only  child  and  daughter, 
who  was  married  to  a  sea-captain.  He  was  often  heard  to 
allude  to  the  touching  event  iu  his  discourses,  and  always 


A    VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP.  93 

manifested  the  deepest  feeling.  It  is  said  that  poor  old 
Father  Taylor  was  seen  at  his  funeral  weeping  like  a 
child. 

105.  There  are  other  men  in  Boston,   New  York,   and 
elsewhere,  that  deserve  more  than  a  passing  notice  in  con- 
nection with  the  great  movement  which  has  been  made  in 
favor  of  seamen ;    but  it  would  take   too   much   time  and 
space  to  mention  them  all.     Those  we  have  already  named 
were  as  prominent  as  any;  and  the  little  sketch  concerning 
them  will  serve  to  show  how  God  has  been  working  through 
human  agency  to  accomplish  his  purposes,  and  cause  the 
"abundance  of  the  sea"  to  be  converted  to  himself;  so  that 
sailors,  in  their  turn,  can  join  in  proclaiming  his  gospel  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 

106.  There  are  bethels  now  in  almost  all  the  large  sea- 
port towns  in  the  United  States  ;   and  they  are  also  quite 
numerous  in  other  countries.     There  is   no  doubt  but  that 
they  all  do  an  immense  amount  of  good ;  but  after  all,  like 
the  little  loaves  and  the  few  fishes,  what  are  they  among 
so  many  ?     Out  of  a  thousand  seamen  in  the  port  of  Boston 
at  one  time  (and  that  is  probably  not  too  large  an  esti- 
mate), it  is  safe  to  say  that  not  one-fifth  part  attend  divine 
services  anywhere ;  and,  as  Boston  is  ahead  of  most  other 
large  towns  in  its  facilities  for  public   religious  worship 
among  the  lowly,  we  can  easily  conjecture  that  there  are 
ports  where  not  more  than  one-fiftieth  parlr  of  the  seamen 
ever  go  to  church.      There  is   little   fear,  therefore,   that 
sailor  missionaries  will  crowd  each  other  for  some  time  to 
come. 

107.  In  order  to  secure  a  fair  attendance  at  the  little 
churches  which  are  already  organized,  colportors  and  mis- 
sionaries have  to  be  employed  to  go  on  board  the  vessels, 
and  frequent  the   boarding-houses,   and   even  the  haunts 
of  vice,  to  gain  any  thing  like  a  respectable  number.     These 


94          A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

missionaries  have  a  very  difficult  work  to  perform,  for  they 
are  frequently  treated  with  the  greatest  disrespect,  as  if 
they  were  engaged  in  a  very  disreputable  piece  of  busi- 
ness ;  and  but  very  few  can  be  found  who  are  willing  to 
do  it. 

108.  Besides  the  numerous  bethels  which  have  been 
erected  for  the  worship  of  God  and  the  spiritual  improve- 
ment of  the  sailor,  there  are  a  number  of  boarding-houses 
established  in  many  of  our  seaport  towns,  which  are  de- 
signed to  secure  to  seamen  some  of  the  advantages  of  a 
good  Christian  home.  To  illustrate  some  of  the  benefits 
which  seamen  receive  from  these  excellent  institutions,  we 
will  give  a  short  account  of  the  way  things  are  conducted  at 
the  Mariners'  House,  situated  on  the  west  side  of  North 
Square  in  Boston.  This  house  is  under  the  fostering  care 
of  the  Boston  Port  and  the  Seaman's  Aid  Societies,  and  is 
conducted  by  Mr.  Nathaniel  Hamilton,  assisted  by  his 
excellent  wife.  Their  administration  of  affairs  has  always 
been  attended  with  a  remarkable  degree  of  success.  In  the 
first  place,  they  adopted  the  policy  that  there  should  be  no 
countenance  given  to  wickedness  and  vice  in  a  place  which 
was  professedly  designed  to  shield  the  sons  of  the  deep 
from  temptation.  Every  regulation  and  by-law  for  the 
maintenance  of  good  order  was  therefore  rigidly  enforced, 
and  those  that  would  not  conform  promptly  expelled.  The 
result  has  been  beneficial  to  all  parties.  All  boarders  that 
have  a  natural  disposition  to  indulge  in  bacchanal  and  lewd 
revels  have  to  go  elsewhere;  and  those  only  are  encouraged 
to  patronize  the  house  who  are  friends  to  good  order,  so-, 
briety,  and  respectability.  All  such  find  a  hearty  wel- 
come. A  large  amount  of  charity  is  sometimes  exercised 
towards  those  who  sin  through  weakness;  but  even  then, 
while  the  individuals  have  been  leniently  dealt  with,  their 
sins  have  received  no  quarter.  A  promise  of  repentance 


A  VOICE  FEOM  THE  DEEP.          95 

has  always  been  necessary  to  prevent  even  the  weak  ones 
from  being  promptly  expelled.  The  result  of  such  dealing 
has  been  to  secure  a  good  class  of  boarders  for  this  house ; 
and  every  shipmaster  who  is  fortunate  enough  to  get  a  part 
of  his  crew  from  it  can  be  reasonably  sure  that  they  will 
be  well-behaved  men.  In  the  first  place,  they  will  not 
come  on  board  drunk,  which  is  a  very  important  item  in 
their  favor ;  and  then,  if  they  are  well  used,  they  will  be 
pretty  sure  to  behave  well  during  the  voyage. 

109.  Iirthe  Mariners'  House,  the  sleeping-apartments  are 
spacious,  commodious,  and  well  ventilated,  and  the  halls, 
office,  and  reading-room  kept  scrupulously  clean  and  neat. 
There  is  also  an  elegant  dining-room,  and  a  good  parlor 
and  chapel-room.     In  the  latter,  religious  worship  is  con- 
ducted by  the  superintendent  mornings  and  evenings,  and 
a  prayer-meeting  is  held  every  Wednesday  evening.     The 
institution  is  designed  to  be  self-supporting,  or  nearly  so; 
and  the  strictest  economy  is  therefore  practised,  so  that  as 
many  advantages  as  possible  shall  accrue  to  the  sailor. 

110.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that  such  a  house  must  be  an 
immejase  benefit  to  the  sailor.     He  has  so  many  incentives 
to  respect  himself,  and  so  many  real  and  substantial  bless- 
ings are  given  him  for  the  money  he  expends,  that  it  is  no 
wonder  so  many  are  prevailed  upon  to  go  from  such  a  house 
to  the  bethel ;  and  so  it  proves  for  the  Church  a  most  effi- 
cient ally.     In   all   attempts  to  elevate   ignorant  and  de- 
praved men,  a  due  regard  should  be  had  for  their  physical 
well-being  in  the  first  place.     They  cannot,  of  course,  have 
any  just  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  the  salvation  of  the  soul : 
but  if  it  can  be  made  to  appear  to  them  that  the  results 
of  Christianity  are  good  in  this  life ;   that  good  principles 
and  virtuous  conduct  will  secure   to  mankind   (including 
sailors)    peace,    respectability,    and    bread .  and   butter,  — 
then  their  attention  can  easily  be  gained ;  and,  by  follow- 


96  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

ing  on  after  the  loaves  and  the  fishes,  they  may  at  last 
be  led  to  see  Christ  beyond,  and  the  glories  of  his  king- 
dom. It  is  thus  that  good,  clean  bricks  and  mortar  preach 
many  an  efficacious  gospel  sermon ;  and  so  clean  clothing 
and  a  clean  person  frequently  furnish  quite  a  satisfactory 
evidence  that  something  is  striving  within  to  make  the 
heart  clean  also. 

111.  It  can  readily  be  imagined,  therefore,  that  a  lack 
of  physical  and  moral  culture  in  the  sailor  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult  things  with  which  a  bethel  minister  has  to 
deal.  It  is  sometimes  easy  to  awaken  the  instinctive  reli- 
gious element  in  the  soul  to  a  sense  of  the  spiritual  pres- 
ence of  God;  but  to  infuse  into  it  the  vital  principles  of 
true  pietjr  is  quite  another  affair.  It  is  often  that  poor,  de- 
graded beings  are  coaxed  into  a  prayer-meeting,  and  while 
there  their  religious  instinct  gets  excited  to  such  a  degree, 
when  they  hear  Christians  telling  what  God  has  done  for 
them,  that  they,  also,  become  constrained  to  take  a  part  in 
the  exercises,  like  Saul  of  old ;  but  their  subsequent  con- 
duct often  shows  most  conclusive!}'  that  they  never  had 
any  just  notion  of  the  requirements  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, or  much  else  in  connection  with  the  subject.  They 
hear  Christians  in  the  prayer-meetings  tell  about  being 
happy ;  and  certainly  happiness  is  a  very  desirable  thing, 
and  what  all  are  seeking  after ;  but  such  persons  generally 
have  but  a  very  vague, notion  of  what  it  is  that  makes  intel- 
ligent Christians  happy.  They  love  to  be  excited,  but  not 
instructed ;  and  if  abstinence  from  whiskey,  tobacco,  un- 
profitable conversation,  or  any  thing  else  that  they  have  an 
unnatural  liking  for,  is  enjoined  upon  them,  they  are  very 
apt  to  say,  as  Pliable  said  to  Christian,  "  Go  and  possess 
the  brave  country  alone  for  me; "  and  then  they  will  set  their 
faces  again  towards  the  City  of  Destruction.  In  some  in- 
stances these  people  go  forward  for  prayers,  and  are 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  97 

accepted  as  converts ;  but  alas !  when  they  get  where 
other  influences  prevail,  they  are  just  as  ready  to  drift  with 
the  wind  and  tide  as  they  were  in  the  prayer-meeting,  and 
sometimes  only  for  the  want  of  a  good  deep  keel  of  self- 
respect  to  hold  them  to  windward. 

112.  It  is  easy  enough  to  have  the  feelings  acted  upon ; 
and  it  is  also  easy  to  resolve  to  he  a  Christian :  hut  to  go 
through  all  the  campaigns,  and  fight  all  the  terrible  battles, 
of  life,  is  quite  another  affair.     It  is  here  that  we  can  see 
the  importance  of  faithfully  imparting  religious  instruction 
to    children.      Their   pliant   and    susceptible    natures    can 
easily  be   moulded  to   good  or  to  evil ;   and,   if  they  are 
brought  along  in  the  right  track  in  youth,  they  will  not 
be  likely  to  deviate  much  from  it  as  they  grow  older.      But, 
when   a  man   is   arrested  by   pungent   convictions  in  the 
midst  of  a  life  of  sin,  it  is  an  extremely  hard  matter  for 
him  to  conquer  all  of  his  bad  habits;  and  the  conflict,  at 
times,  seems  so  likely  to  crush  him,  that  he  is  sometimes 
tempted  to  abandon  a  course  of  life  which  obliges  him  to 
carry  a  heavy  cross  continually.     Overcoming  bad  habits 
late  in  life  is,  indeed,  like  cutting  off  a  right  hand,  or  pluck- 
ing out  a  right  eye.     It  is  like  taming  and  making  useful  a 
wild   horse  which  has  always  been  accustomed  to  gallop 
over  the  plains  at  his  pleasure,  and   is  altogether  unused 
to  the  harness   and  bridle.     We  hope,  that,   in   the   next 
generation,  sailors  will  grow  up  Christians  from  childhood ; 
and   then   their  ministers'   labors  will   be,   at  least,  much 
pleasanter.     Now  they  have  to  do  principally  with  grown-up, 
wayward,  and  vicious  men ;   then  they  will  have  in  their 
congregations  a  due  proportion  of  women  and  children,  the 
same  as  other  pastors. 

113.  If  a  young  minister  that  never  had  much  experi- 
ence should  hear  that  several  of  his  converts  had  indulged 
in  improper  conversation,  or  in  any  manner  given  occasion 

9 


98  A   VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

to  the  enemy  to  speak  reproachfully,  it  would  doubtless 
make  him  think  that  he  might  be  laboring  in  the  wrong 
field,  where  rocks  and  thorns  and  stumps  would  not  suffer 
any  thing  to  be  brought  to  perfection :  but  let  such  a  one 
never  despair;  for  a  field  is  seldom  thoroughly  cleared  up 
in  the  beginning.  It  takes  years  for  the  stumps  to  rot ; 
and,  every  time  the  soil  is  turned  up,  there  will  be  a  fresh 
crop  of  stones.  It  is  the  minister's  business  only  to  sow 
the  seed  faithfully ;  and  his  heavenly  reward  will  be  the 
same,  whether  the  land  produce  ten,  a  hundred,  or  a  thou- 
sand fold. 

114.  A  minister  settled  over  a  congregation  of  landsmen 
has  many  things  to  make  his  life  pass  pleasantly  away. 
Young  people,  and  even  children,  as  they  come  to  the  years 
of  understanding,  are  constantly  being  converted,  and  re- 
ceived into  the  Church,  where  they  can  be  watched  over 
and  instructed  by  older  Christians  until  they  are  grounded 
so  strongly  in  the  faith,  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  re- 
move them.  Their  education,  their  marriage,  and,  indeed, 
almost  every  important  event  of  their  lives,  furnishes  an 
object  of  interest  to  the  pastor,  who  must,  at  times,  almost 
feel  as  if  they  were  his  own.  The  elder  portion  of  his  flock 
maintain  the  even  tenor  of  their  way,  and  assist  him  every 
way  that  they  can.  Besides  taking  a  part  in  the  evening 
meetings,  they  have  social  gatherings,  where  the  people 
meet  to  get  better  acquainted  with  each  other.  Good  feel- 
ing abounds  on  all  sides;  and  the  minister  finds  every  thing 
to  encourage  him,  and  make  his  heart  glad.  Not  so  with 
the  bethel  minister.  His  congregations  are  largely  com- 
posed of  full-grown  males,  who  are  strangers  to  each  other; 
for  sometimes  they  do  not  get  a  chance  to  go  to  the  same 
church  half  a  dozen  times  in  a  year;  and  some  of  them 
may  never  visit  the  same  port  again  in  their  lives.  As  the 
congregations  are  constantly  changing,  the  results  of 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.          99 

preaching  and  other  means  of  grace  are  traced  with  great 
difficulty ;  and  some  of  the  words  spoken,  and  thought  to 
be  lost  on  poor  ground  because  no  signs  of  germination 
could  be  detected  immediately,  may  yet,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  some  favorable  experience,  spring  up,  and  bear  fruit 
unto  life  eternal. 

115.  Notwithstanding  all  the  discouragements  and  draw- 
backs which  have  hitherto  always  attended  the  efforts  of 
philanthropical  individuals  and  societies  to  promote  reli- 
gion, happiness,  and  Christian  virtue  among  seamen,  they 
have  achieved  a  remarkable  degree  of  success.  They  not 
only  confer  blessings  on  those  sailors  they  come  in  contact 
with ;  but  those  men,  in  turn,  exert  good  influences  wher- 
ever they  go,  and  carry,  in  many  instances,  godly  lives  and 
conversation  right  into  the  strongholds  of  sin.  Some  of 
them  get  to  be  officers  of  vessels :  and  then  their  sphere 
of  usefulness  is  very  much  increased ;  for  then  they  can  re- 
strain wickedness  by  their  authority,  as  well  as  encourage 
virtue  by  their  example. 

The  converts  to  Christianity  from  among  seamen,  even 
with  the  limited  means  employed,  can  probably  be  num- 
bered by  thousands  ;  and,  if  we  take  into  the  account  the 
Bible  estimate  of  the  comparative  value  of  the  soul,  surely 
no  one  can  say  that  the  ocean  has  proved  to  be  an  unfruit- 
ful field  of  labor:  and  still  this  work  is  but  just  begun. 
What  a  glorious  consummation  of  love's  labor  it  would  be 
to  have  all  the  noble  men  who  are  engaged  in  constant 
conflicts  with  the  elements  disciples  of  Him  whose  voice 
can  instantly  still  the  raging  tempest,  and  who  is  not 
willing  that  any  of  his  loved  ones  shall  perish,  or  even 
be  uncomfortable !  A  Saviour's  love  is  now  working  in 
the  hearts  of  thousands  of  noble  men  and  women,  prompt- 
ing them  to  furnish  the  same  blessings  that  they  enjoy  to 
every  son  and  daughter  of  Adam ;  and  even  the  sailor  is  to 
be  no  longer  left  out  of  the  account. 


100  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

116.  Choice   libraries   of  valuable  reading-matter  have 
been  furnished  to  many  vessels  for  the  use  of  the  sailor; 
and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  they  also  have  done  much 
good.     The  books  are  usually  all  selected  with  a  view  to 
improve  the  moral  and  spiritual  conditiqn  of  seamen ;  and 
so  all  irrelevant  matter  is  carefully  excluded.     These  libra- 
ries have  been  mostly  furnished  by  the  Seaman's  Friend 
Society ;   and  we  will   now  quote    a   paragraph   from   one 
of  their  reports,  dated  1870:    "The  society  has  shipped, 
during  the  past  twelve  years,  3,387  libraries,  composed  of 
about  150,000  volumes.     The  reshipments,  as  near  as  can 
be  ascertained,  have  been  2,095.     These  libraries,  including 
the  reshipments,  have  been  accessible  to  crews  numbering 
150  to  250  men,  many  of  whom  have  read  every  book  in 
the  library  of  40  or  50  volumes.     Since  1861,  761  of  these 
libraries  have  been  shipped  in  the    United-States   navy, 
accessible,  at  different  times,  to  crews  numbering  85,600 
men.     Of  these  libraries,  240  have  been  returned,  leaving 
now  in  the  navy,  or  unaccounted  for,  521.     The  shipments 
and  reshipments  for  the  past  year,  including  359  new,  and 
425  returned  and  refitted,   are  784.     As  a  library  often 
remains  in  a  ship  three  or  four  voyages,  each  voyage  hav- 
ing  different   crews,    a   much   larger   number   of    seamen 
are  reached  in  this  way  than  the  above  figures  indicate." 

117.  It   can    easily  be   imagined,  that  a  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  volumes  of  good,  substantial  reading-mat- 
ter must  have  a  powerful  effect  on  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  men  whose  daily  livee  and  circumstances  are  favorable 
to    habits  of  contemplation  and  reflection.     In  the  mid- 
night watch,   when  the   stars   are  shining  brightly  above 
him,  like    so    many    pure    and    heavenly  gems  of  sacred 
truth,  the  sailor's  mind  can  reflect  upon  the  lives  of  those 
good  people   he  has  been  reading  about  until  the  Spirit 
of  truth  shall   make  it  apparent  to   him,  that  there  is  a 


A   VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP.  101 

central  figure  which  gives  light,  beauty,  and  brilliancy 
to  human  character,  as  well  as  to  the  stars  which  adorn 
the  nocturnal  firmament.  The  red  harbinger  of  approach- 
ing twilight  in  the  east  teaches  him  that  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  will  soon  appear  above  his  mental  hori- 
zon, before  whose  face  the  moon  shall  withdraw  her  shin- 
ing ;  and  the  stars,  which  were  his  late  companions,  shall 
not  give  their  light ;  but  Christ  shall  be  all,  and  in  all. 
Where  can  rest  be  found,  — rest  for  the  weary  soul  ?  That 
is  the  momentous  question  which  agitates  his  mind,  and 
affects  his  heart.  The  testimony  of  a  dozen  biographies 
teaches  him  that  there  is  a  better  way  than  he  is  now  pursu- 
ing; that  there  are  hopes  which  reach  beyond  the  grave; 
and  that  he  can  participate  in  them,  too,  if  he  will.  He 
longs  for  liberty.  He  longs  to  be  freed  from  the  tyranny 
of  sin.  His  mind  reverts,  perhaps,  to  his  early  years,  when 
a  pious  mother  prayed,  in  his  hearing,  that  he  might  be 
kept, unspotted  from  the  world.  Indecision  holds  him  no 
longer.  He  resolves  to  be  a  Christian,  and  soon  finds  the 
way  through  some  of  God's  appointed  means,  which  humble 
and  contrite  hearts  only  can  appreciate  and  successfully  use. 
118.  It  is  true,  that  many  of  those  books  are  read  by  the 
thoughtless  and  the  unreflecting:  but,  even  in  their  case, 
we  may  anticipate  some  good  results ;  for  although  such 
men  may  never  become  thoroughly  reformed  themselves, 
still,  in  whatever  degree  they  can  be  restrained  from  actual 
wickedness,  so  much  will  be  gained  for  the  cause  of  truth ; 
so  much  will  the  sailor's  temptations,  and  the  aggregate 
amount  of  evil  to  which  he  is  exposed,  be  necessarily  dimin- 
ished. We  are  naturally  constituted  sympathetic  creatures, 
and  sympathy  we  must  have  at  some  rate,  even  if  we  have 
to  get  it  from  exceptional  sources;  but,  if  all  we  receive 
comes  from  bad  people,  it  cannot  fail  to  affect  us  injuriously. 
Their  influence  may  be  almost  imperceptible  at  first,  for  it 
9» 


102  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

will  act  inwardly ;  but,  if  it  is  continued,  it  can  hardly  fail 
to  eat  the  vital  part  of  Christianity  effectually  out  of  us, 
leaving  nothing  but  a  fair  outside,  which  can  be  easily 
crushed  through  when  any  combination  of  circumstances 
operates  to  remove  the  earthly  hopes  which  conceal  for  a 
time  the  dreadful  ravages  of  contagious  disease. 

119.  Another  cause  which  operates  favorably  to  dispose 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  seamen  to  receive  moral  and  reli- 
gious truth  is  the  presence  of  females  and  children  on 
board  of  a  ship.  A  great  many  shipmasters  now  carry  their 
wives  with  them  on  some  of  their  voyages ;  and  those 
among  them  that  happen  to  be  devoted  Christians  can  ex- 
ert an  influence  for  good  among  seamen  that  could  hardly 
be  exceeded  by  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  The  ship  then 
seems  more  like  a  home ;  and  the  profound  respect  which 
the  feelings  of  seamen  almost  always  cause  them  to  enter- 
tain for  virtuous  females  is  heightened  by  the  fact  that 
the  captain's  wife  seems  to  be  something  to  them.  £They 
seem  to  be,  in  a  manner,  members  of  the  same  family ;  and 
all  of  her  actions  and  words  are  noted  with  as  much  interest 
as  if  she  were  the  dearest  creature  in  the  world  to  them ; 
and,  doubtless,  many  of  them  actually  feel  so.  Poor  souls ! 
nine-tenths  of  them  can  never  have  any  female  society 
excepting  that  of  those  poor,  degraded  wretches  whose  souls 
and  bodies  are  even  now  in  the  lowest  hell  of  the  destroyer. 
Even  when  a  woman  has  no  claims  to  being  considered  any 
thing  more  than  merely  respectable,  her  presence  is  always 
a  blessing.  Order  is  much  easier  maintained  where  a 
woman  is  at  hand  to  hear  of  and  witness  all  ungracious 
conduct  and  evil  deeds.  There  are  but  very  few  seafaring 
men  who  would  not  desire  to  be  thought  well  of  by  an 
intelligent,  well-behaved  woman :  indeed,  any  man  that 
could  be  so  hardened  as  to  be  wholly  insensible  to  a  virtu- 
ous woman's  good  or  bad  opinion  would  be  a  fit  candidate 
for  Blackwell's  Island  or  Botany  Bay. 


A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP.  103 

120.  The  effect  which  little  children  have  upon  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  seamen  is  likewise  pleasing  and  salutary. 
Who  that  has  lived  a  life  of  sin  and  shame  can  behold  a 
little  child,  full  of  innocent  glee,  and  perfectly  unconscious 
that  he  is  living  in  a  wicked  world,  and  not  feel  a  desire 
to  be  young  again,  so  as  to  correct  in  a  second  edition,  as 
Franklin  said,  the  errors  of  the  first?  Doubtless  many 
a  weather-worn  and  vicious  sailor  has  had  such  thoughts 
course  through  his  heart 'when  circumstances  have  been 
favorable  ;  and  every  such  thing  tends  to  soften  a  hardened 
nature,  and  prepare  the  ground  to  receive  the  seeds  of 
truth  with  some  prospect  of  a  hopeful  result. 

The  stupid  prejudice  entertained  by  some  merchants 
against  allowing  their  captains  to  take  their  families  with 
them,  on  the  ground,  that,  in  order  to  allay  their  fears,  a 
less  amount  of  sail  will  be  carried,  is  without  any  founda- 
tion in  fact.  Women  are  just  as  likely  to  take  happily 
to  a  seafaring  life  as  men  ;  but  there  are  those  of  both  sexes 
who  think  they  could  not  go  to  sea  under  any  circum- 
stances. It  is  to  be  feared,  however,  that  some  people 
have  no  better  excuse  for  the  repugnance  which  they  mani- 
fest towards  a  seafaring  life  than  a  natural  and  selfish  dis- 
taste for  any  thing  that  looks  like  hardship,  inconvenience, 
or  danger.  Any  shipmaster  possessed  of  the  moral  ele- 
ments of  manhood  would  redouble  his  exertions  (if  such  a 
thing  were  possible),  if  his  wife  and  children  were  with  him 
to  witness  his  conduct,  and  be  exposed  to  all  the  dangers 
that  his  delinquencies  might  bring  upon  them.  An  intelli- 
gent lady  in  a  vessel's  cabin  may  often  prove  a  great  assist- 
ance to  her  husband  on  many  trying  occasions;  and  any 
owner  that  objects  to  their  heavenly  presence  must  be  not 
only  blind  to  his  own  interests,  but  hostile,  or  at  least 
apathetic,  to  the  cause  of  virtue  and  religion.  With  the 
exception  of  their  board,  which  is  but  a  small  trifle,  there 


104  A   VOICE  PROM  THE   DEEP. 

is  no  other-objection  worth  mentioning,  unless  it  he  on  account 
of  character.  The  moral  effect  which  a  woman's  prescin-" 
always  inspires  on  board  of  a  ship  ought  to  have  weight  with 
any  ship-owner;  but  some  of  them,  as  we  have  already  had 
occasion  to  notice,  cannot  see  any  thing  of  the  kind,  if  they 
can  manage  to  get  a  dollar  before  their  avaricious  eyes. 

121.  In  reviewing  the  efforts  which  have  recently  been 
made  to  elevate  seamen  from  a  worse  than  brutal  state  of 
sin  and  misery  to  a  place  among  men  where  they  can  re- 
spect themselves,  we  have  thus  far  seen  the  most  encoura- 
ging results.  We  have  said,  that,  after  making  due  allowance 
for  those  that  fall  away  after  professing  better  things, 
still  the  converts  to  Christianity  from  among  sailors,  even 
with  the  limited  means  employed,  can  probably  be  num- 
bered by  thousands.  That  fact  is  certainly  encouraging; 
and  if  so  many  have  been  benefited,  even  though  their 
number  bears  but  a  small  proportion  to  those  who  are  still 
in  the  lowest  depths  of.  degradation  and  misery,  why  may 
we  not  hope,  that,  by  using  the  same  means  faithfully,  all 
will  at  length  be  converted,  and  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  ?  Is  not  the  good  work  among  seamen  progressing 
as  fast  as  it  can  under  the  circumstances  ?  and  will  not  tin- 
glorious  promise  heralded  by  the  prophet,  that  the  "alum- 
dance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted,"  soon  be  realized?  It 
may  be  that  it  will  soon  be  realized;  but  we  think  never 
wholly  by  the  means  at  present  employed.  As  we  have 
said  before,  the  plaster  is  not  large  enough  for  the  wound ; 
and,  before  we  speculate  further  on  methods  of  improve- 
ment, let  us  see  why  it  is  that  what  are  usually  considered 
the  ordinary  means  of  grace  cannot  directly  avail  to  effect 
eventually  a  thorough  reformation  in  the  character,  circum- 
stances, and  condition  of  all  sailors. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

EFFECTS    OF  EARLY    INSTRUCTION. NECESSITY    FOR    FE- 
MALE   SOCIETY. NECESSITY    FOR    HIGHER    WAGES. 

APPEAL    FOR    SYMPATHY. 

122.  NOTWITHSTANDING  all  the  efforts  that  have  been 
made  by  benevolent  societies  and  philanthropical  individ- 
uals to  improve  the  spiritual  condition  of  seamen  within 
the  last  half-century,  the  mass  of  them  are  about  as  badly 
off  as  ever.     A  thousand  converts  out  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand does   not   certainly  indicate   a  very  favorable   state 
of  things.     Let  us  now  examine  and  see  what  the  causes 
are  which  prevent  those  who  are  still  debased  and  profli- 
gate from  being  benefited,  as  well  as  those  who  have  already 
been  the  subjects  of  reformation. 

123.  In  the  first  place,   then,   a  reference  to  what  has 
been  said  will  show  us  that  many  seamen  have  had  good 
surroundings  in  childhood.    Many  have  had  pious  parents, 
and   good   moral  and  religious  instruction  when  young. 
We   have   seen,  also,  that   some  of  them  have  had  good 
educational  advantages;  and,  previous  to  their  going  to  sea, 
they  were,  perhaps,   well  versed  in  the   usages   and   pro- 
prieties of  civilized  life.      Perhaps   their  first  motive  for 
leaving  home  was  a  desire  to  see  something  of  the  world, 
or  to  gratify  a  restless  and  adventurous  disposition,  intend- 
ing, at  some  future  time,  to  quit  a  seafaring  life,  get  mar- 
ried, and  settle  down,  on  shore.     Their  contact  with  seamen 
at  such  an  early  age  was  prejudicial  to  all  their  best  inter- 

105 


106  A   VOICE  FROM   THE   DEEP. 

csts;  for  their  association  with  men  addicted  to  vicious 
habits  operated  to  hlunt  their  moral  susceptibilities,  and 
to  undermine  the  fair  fabric  of  virtue  which  parents, 
teachers,  and  guardians  had  striven  so  industriously  to  rear. 
"When  men  that  have  been  thus  situated  in  youth  come  in 
contact  with  Christian  influences  in  advanced  life,  they 
are  frequently  powerfully  affected  by  them  ;  and  it  is  to  be 
observed,  that  most  of  the  converts  from  among  seamen  are 
men  of  .this  description.  In  a  great  many  such  cases,  the 
sailor,  in  relating  his  experience,  will  frequently  mention 
the  efforts  made  by  a  praying  mother,  or  some  other  friend 
of  his  youth,  for  his  salvation;  and  many  other  things  go 
to  show,  that,  in  most  cases,  other  agencies  besides  the 
bethel  have  primarily  given  the  sailor  some  respect  for 
divine  things,  and,  in  a  manner,  prepared  his  heart  to  be 
acted  on  by  moral  and  spiritual  motives,  when  presented 
under  favorable  circumstances.  The  work  that  the  bethel, 
and  similar  agencies,  does,  is  principally  to  reclaim  those 
that  have,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  fallen;  but  it  hardly 
touches  that  great  mass  of  corruption,  sin,  and  degrada- 
tion, which  lies  festering  before  our  eyes,  and  which  is 
incurable  by  all  the  means  which  have  hitherto  been 
employed.  We  see,  therefore,  that  but  few  are  permanently 
benefited  by  the  most  powerful  means  of  grace,  unless  their 
minds  and  hearts  have  been,  in  some  degree,  prepared  in 
youth. 

124.  We  know,  also,  that  it  is  one  of  the  offices  of  the 
Christian  religion  to  inspire  men  with  a  love  of  liberty,  and 
a  hatred  of  oppression  and  all  kinds  of  lawless  violence. 
Let  us  now  see  what  inferences  can  be  drawn  from  this 
proposition  to  exemplify  our  subject. 

When  men  are  converted,  the  inspirations  engendered 
by  self-respect  (another  Christian  virtue)  prompt  them  to 
avoid  foreign-going  ships,  in  which  they  are  liable  to  re- 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  107 

ceive  abusive  treatment,  and  confine  themselves  to  coasters 
and  fishermen,  where  they  can  soon  have  a  change  if  things 
do  not  go  on  to  suit  them.  This  exodus  of  religious  seamen 
from  large  ships  to  little  brigs  and  schooners  leaves  the 
mass  of  long-voyage  sailors  as  badly  off  as  ever,  and  reveals 
the  undoubted  fact,  that  tyranny  and  barbarous  usage, 
under  present  arrangements,  must  always  prove  a  powerful 
though  secondary  cause  to  prevent  any  wholesale  improve- 
ment in  the  moral  and  spiritual  condition  of  seamen.  This 
defection  of  seamen  from  foreign-going  ships  to  coasters  is 
a  great  evil,  and  is  severely  felt  by  the  few  good  shipmas- 
ters who  deserve  and  are  anxious  to  obtain  good,  efficient, 
and  peaceable  men  for  their  crews.  Sometimes  it  happens 
that  there  is  hardly  a  steady  man  to  be  found  in  port ; 
and,  in  such  cases,  the  best  captains  have  to  take  up  with 
ruffians,  thugs,  loafers,  or  any  thing  in  the  shape  of  men,  to 
go  with  them  on,  perhaps,  a  year's  voyage.  Such  men  are 
bound  to  make  trouble,  and  can  seldom  be  governed  at  all 
except  by  the  severest  discipline,  administered  in  the  se- 
verest manner.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  the  conver- 
sion and  consequent  exodus  of  good  seamen  from  sea-going 
ships  renders  the  general  character  of  most  crews  even 
worse  than  formerly  ;  and  the  testimony  of  almost  all  offi- 
cers who  have  had  fifteen  or  twenty  years'  experience  will 
verify  the  truth  of  this  assertion. 

125.  We  have  noticed  also,  that  in  the  Mariners'  House 
in  Boston,  and  perhaps  in  some  of  the  sailors'  homes,  it 
often  becomes  necessary  to  promptly  expel  many  boarders 
who  will  not  conform  to  the  rules.  These  expelled  boarders 
find  a  welcome  in  the  various  seamen's  boarding-houses, 
where  they  are  considered  just  as  good  as  any  of  their  com- 
panions. This  shows  that  the  good  which  such  houses 
do  is,  in  a  measure,  limited  to  those,  who,  by  early  reli- 
gious influences  and  proper  training,  are  measurably  pre- 


108  A  VOICE?  PROM  THE   DEEP. 

pared  to  appreciate  an  asylum  from  temptations  and  false- 
(Iraling.  Such  institutions  may  help  to  save  a  few 
well-disposed  sailors;  but  they  cannot  redeem  the  sea- 
man's profession  from  dishonor.  They  are  merely  life- 
boats to  prevent  a  few  spiritually-shipwrecked  and  drown- 
ing seamen  from  losing  eternal  life;  but  they  possess  very 
little  power  to  prevent,  or  even  to  diminish,  the  number 
of  shipwrecks. 

126.  .It  is  a  matter  of  observation,  that  a  great  majority 
of  the  seamen  that  compose  the  congregations  in  the  differ- 
ent bethels  are  not  what  is  called,  in  nautical  parlance, 
"deep-water  sailors."     The  greater  part  come  from  little 
schooners  lying  at  the  wharves,  and  from  their  own  homes, 
and  from  some   of  the   benevolent   institutions  we   have 
already  named.     This  fact  shows  the  tendency  of  moral 
and  religious  seamen  to  cherish  their  self-respect  by  avoid- 
ing large  ships,  and  serving  where  they  can  be  assured 
of  good  moral  treatment,  if  nothing  more.     Only  those  that 
hope  to  become  officers,  and  a  few  inexperienced  boys,  and 
a  small  number  of  unintelligent  but  well-disposed  foreign- 
ers, will  still  expose  themselves  to  the  evils  and  horrors 
of  an  ocean  passage ;  and,  whenever  we  do  see  any  •'  deep- 
water  sailors"  in  a  bethel  meeting,  we  can  be  reasonably 
assured  that  they  are  from  some  of  these.     The  regular 
"  ShellbacJcs,"  who   constitute   the   rank   and  file  of  the 
class  of  men  usually  denominated  sailors,  are  but  seldom 
seen  in  a  bethel. 

127.  There  is  another  thing  that  not  only  draws  our  con- 
verted seamen   out   of  foreign-going   ships    into   coasters, 
but  in  many  instances  induces  them  to  quit  the  sea  alto- 
gether, and  seek    for  something   to   do  on  shore  to  gain 
a  livelihood:    it    is   the    want    of  female   society.      God 
said  in  the  beginning,  that   "it  was  not  good  that  man 
should  be   alone;"    and   all  human  experience   has  veri- 


A  VOICE   FROM  THE   DEEP.  109 

fied  the  truth  of  the  assertion :  it  reveals  a  law  of  man's 
nature,  which  he  is  bound  to  respect,  or  the  most  ca- 
lamitous results  will  inevitably  follow.  It  is  founded  in 
the  nature  of  things,  in  the  natural  instincts  which 
God,  in  infinite  wisdom,  has  constitutionally  ingrafted 
upon  the  human  soul.  It  is  said  by  many,  that  the 
sailor,  in  choosing  the  company  of  abandoned  women, 
demonstrates  to  the  world  that  he  is  naturally  vile  and 
depraved;  that  he  is  merely  seeking  to  gratify  the  morbid 
cravings  of  a  wicked  heart  that  is  wholly  given  up  to  licen- 
tiousness and  vileness.  Such  a  view  of  the  case  is  by  no 
means  the  true  one.  The  instinctive  law  of  God  in  the 
soul  of  the  sailor  prompts  him  to  crave  female  society ; 
and,  in  desiring  and  striving  to  fulfil  that  law,  he  is,  in 
the  main  sense,  no  more  blameworthy  than  the  minister 
of  the  gospel  would  be  in  desiring  to  have  a  wife  and  chil- 
dren. 

128.  No :  but  it  is  said  that  the  minister  of  the  gospel 
only  desires  a  lawful  wedded  wife  and  legal  children,  which 
is  regarded  by  all  mankind  as  perfectly  honorable ;  but  the 
sailor  has  "a  wife  in  every  port,"  and  does  not  expect  any 
children,  nor  any  good  to  result  from  his  practices.  We 
reply,  that  the  desire  for  female  society  must  be  equally 
laudable  in  both  cases;  and  one  may  not  be  any  more 
influenced  by  his  animal  appetites  than  the  other.  Both 
want  female  society  from  the  same  instinctive  motives,  and 
both  take  the  best  they  can  get.  The  education  and  out- 
ward circumstances  of  the  minister  are  favorable  to  cause 
him  to  practise  virtue,  which  is  only  strictly  and  intelli- 
gently obeying  all  the  laws  of  God  constitutionally  estab- 
lished in  his  own  nature  and  in  the  nature  of  things.  The 
education  and  outward  circumstances  of  the  sailor  and  his 
transient  companions  of  the  other  sex  are  nearly  all  unfa- 
vorable to  cause  them  to  practise  virtue ;  and  so  they  per- 
10 


110  A   VOICE   FROM   THE  DEEP. 

vert  the  laws  which  God  has  constitutionally  established  in 
the  nature  of  things:  and  the  results  are,  in  both  cases, 
inevitable,  —  in  the  former  case  happiness,  and  in  the 
latter  misery  the  most  intense ;  for  the  violation  of  a  law 
which  was  designed  to  secure  to  us  the  greatest  blessings 
is  sure  to  procure  for  us  curses  proportionally  great.  We 
see,  therefore,  that  education  and  outward  circumstances, 
more  than  natural  inherent  righteousness,  cause  people 
to  appear  amiable  and  lovely  in  this  world  of  ours.  The 
natural  qualities  of  the  clergyman's  heart,  and  of  the 
sailor's,  in  boyhood  might  have  been  nearly  the  same.  The 
appetites  and  passions  of  one  may  have  been  of  the  same 
strength  with  those  of  the  other.  It  was  due  to  different 
circumstances,  and  to  different  modes  of  training,  that  one 
turned  out  to  be  a  licentious  vagabond,  and  the  other  a 
minister  of  the  gospel. 

No,  it  is  not  true  that  the  sailor  generally  prefers  the 
society  of  lewd  women.  He  secretly  despises  their  con- 
duct, as  well  as  his  own,  and  only  goes  with  them,  because, 
in  his  degraded  state,  he  can  do  no  better.  He  would  like 
a  lovely  wife  and  children  the  same  as  the  clergyman ;  but 
what  virtuous  woman  would  have  any  thing  to  do  with 
him  ?  and  how  could  he  support  one  if  she  would  ?  How 
can  he  do  much  better  than  he  is  doing,  with  so  many 
things  against  him  ?  and  how  can  his  transient  companion 
of  the  other  sex  do  much  better  than  she  is  doing,  with  so 
many  things  against  her?  We  repeat,  that  neither  the 
sailor  nor  his  companion  may  be  any  more  the  natural 
slave  of  lust  than  thousands  of  others  in  society  that 
have  the  reputation  of  being  virtuous  and  honest  people. 

129.  But  do  not  the  foregoing  remarks  make  it  evident 
that  all  people  marry  from  impure  motives?  If  the  cler- 
gyman has  no  purer  instincts  than  the  sailor,  who  has  "a 
wife  in  every  port,"  does  it  not  argue  that  society  rests  on 


A   VOICE   FROM   THE  DEEP.  Ill 

very  rotten  foundations  ?  By  no  means.  Marriage  is  so 
far  from  being  a  consummation  of  impurity,  that  it  is,  prob- 
ably, the  beginning  of  its  death.  Love  is  wholly  spiritual; 
and  where  it  exists  in  full  strength,  unalloyed  by  the  baser 
passions,  it  will  consume  and  destroy  every  thing  that  is 
opposed  to  it.  Man's  spiritual  nature  longs  for  female 
society  far  more  than  his  animal ;  and  where  it  is  in  the 
ascendency,  and  rightly  instructed,  it  will  subdue  all  the 
animal  instincts  to  the  requirements  of  moral  truth ;  and 
perfect  happiness  will  be  the  result.  The  clergyman,  we 
have  seen,  was  favorably  situated  in  life.  His  physical, 
moral,  and  spiritual  natures  were  all  cared  for ;  and,  fol- 
lowing the  dictates  of  Nature,  he  married  a  virtuous  wife, 
which  a  good  reputation,  correct  habits,  and  many  other 
favorable  circumstances,  enabled  him  to  obtain.  The  sailor, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  unfavorably  situated.  Exposure  to 
physical  and  moral  evils  in  early  youth  blunted  his  per- 
ceptive and  even  his  reflective  faculties.  Oppression, 
t}Tanny,  and  outrageous  violence  broke  his  spirit ;  and  false 
dealing  made  him  distrustful  of  human  nature,  and  a  dis- 
believer in  God.  By  degrees  he  fell ;  and,  in  his  progress 
downward,  he  was  only  able  to  keep  company  with  those 
of  the  other  sex  who  were  as  far  along  on  the  road  as  him- 
self: but  that  fact  in  no  measure  proves  that  the  sailor  is 
more  lustful,  or  any  less  susceptible  of  moral  improvement, 
than  other  men.  If  a  young  man  in  society,  that  had 
always  been  surrounded  with  good  religious  influences,  and 
had  been  duly  instructed  about  all  of  his  duties  towards  his 
Creator  and  his  fellow-men,  should  voluntarily  leave  all  heav- 
enly hopes  and  aspirations  for  the  sake  of  frequenting  houses 
of  prostitution,  merely  to  gratify  his  lusts,  we  might  then, 
perhaps,  have  some  cause  to  attach  a  stigma  to  his  name, 
and  say  that  he  was  a  natural  son  of  Belial.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  there  are  but  few  such  young  men  anywhere ;  and  it 


112  A   VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

is  quite  certain  they  are  no  more  numerous  among  sailors 
than  they  are  among  other  classes  of  men :  the  fact  that 
many  seamen  go  with  abandoned  women  does  not  prove  it 
in  the  least  degree. 

130.  But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  does  not  the  sailor  try  to 
reform  himself?  and  why  does  he  not  marry,  even  though 
he  may  be  compelled  to  take  a  wife  from  the  lowest  circles 
in  society?     We  will  reply  to  the  first  question  by  another. 
Why  does  not  a  child  go  to  school  of  his  own  accord,  and 
begin  to  read?  or,  if  he  is  situated  so  that  he  cannot  go  to 
school,  why  does  he  not  learn  to  read  himself  from  a  book  ? 
We  see  men,  women,  and  children  of  all  ages,  that  are  hon- 
ored, respected,  and  beloved  by  all ;    but  did  they  make 
themselves  lovely?     They  might  have  been  partially  will- 
ing to  be  made  lovely;  and  that  is  about  all  that  can  be 
said  in  favor  of  the  best  of  them.     Many  people  do  but 
faintly  realize  how  much  they  are  indebted  to  the  multi- 
plied means  of  grace  which  exist  all  around  them  for  the 
excellent  loveliness  of  their  characters.     And  then  people 
are  not  worthy  of  too  much  credit  for  even  being  willing  to 
be  Christians.     In  the  first  place,  gentle  force  is  used,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  child.     He  is  restrained  from  evil  by 
force,  and  encouraged,  and  even  forced,  to  do  good.     He  is 
forced  to  go  to  school,  and  forced  to  go  to  church,   and 
forced  to  avoid  the  company  of  bad  boys,  and  so  on,  until 
higher  motives  can  be  used  to  influence  him  for  good.     The 
forces  which  were  exerted  in  his  early  youth  finally  find 
their  consummation  in  the  force  of  habit,  which  is  nearly 
irresistible,  and  explains   that   observation   of  Solomon's, 
where  he  says,  that,  if  we  "train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he 
should  go,  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 

131.  If  people  in  virtuous  communities  cannot  rise  with- 
out assistance  from  others,  when  there  is  comparatively  but 
little  opposed  to  them,  how  can  we  expect  the  sailor  to  rise, 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.         113 

surrounded  as  he  ever  is  by  evil  influences,  and  a  slave  to 
bad  habits,  which  are  just  as  strong  as  good  ones?  How 
can  we  expect  him  to  rise,  when  almost  every  thing  connected 
with  him  seems  to  be  evil,  and  only  evil  ?  It  is  not  possible. 
In  order  to  save  the  sailor,  the  evil  influences  we  have 
described  must  be  removed,  and  good  ones  substituted  in 
their  places ;  and  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  every  Chris- 
tian man  and  woman  to  give  him  a  chance  to  obtain,  as  far 
as  possible,  all  the  blessings  which  they  themselves  enjoy  ; 
and,  if  they  fail  to  use  their  best  efforts  to  do  this, 
they  must  also  forfeit  their  right  to  be  called  the  children 
of  God. 

132.  In  regard  to  the  other  question  that  might  be 
raised,  Why  does  not  a  sailor  marry  ?  we  reply,  that  a  cor- 
rect answer  discovers  at  once  the  fountain-head  of  all  the 
sailor's  miseries  and  misfortunes.  It  lays  bare  the  tap-root 
of  the  tree  of  sin,  and  shows  us  where  we  must  strike  to 
cut  off  the  flow  of  deadly  poison  which  nourishes  the  nox- 
ious plants  of  the  Great  Destroyer.  Sailors  do  not  marry, 
because  their  limited  means  ivill  not  allow  them  to  support 
families,  or  even  to  think  of  such  a  thing.  That  is  what's 
the  matter.  That  is  what  renders  teaching  and  preaching 
of  little  avail  to  the  sailor.  No  amount  of  teaching  and 
preaching  can  give  him  a  wife  and  children ;  and,  until 
that  is  done,  his  noble  profession  will  never  be  redeemed 
from  reproach  and  dishonor.  There  is  one  of  the  most 
exacting  of  Nature's  laws  violated  in  his  case ;  and,  until  he 
is  set  right  in  that  respect,  the  New  Jerusalem,  with  its 
unfading  flowers  and  golden  streets,  which  we  love  to  sing 
about,  can  be  a  matter  of  no  great  concern  to  him.  He 
turns  aside  from  the  entreaties  of  men  and  women  who 
profess  to  be  Christians,  with  an  incredulous  smile,  as  if  he 
should  say,  "  What  is  heaven  to  me?  It  will  do  very  well 
for  you  to  talk  of  its  glories,  when  you  have  every  tiling 
10 


114  A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP. 

furnished  to  your  minds  in  this  fe ;  but  I  must  be  put 
off  with  something  apparently  as  unsubstantial  as  an 
Indian's  ghost  in  the*  spectre  land.  That  will  not  do  for 
me.  I  am  in  the  valley  now,  and  do  not  want  to  be  lifted 
so  high  up  all  at  once.  Get  me  up  to  a  position  where  I 
can  have  that  which  is  not  denied  to  the  meanest  slave, 
and  perhaps  I  can  see  from  thence  the  gate  of  the  celestial 
city  you  have  been  telling  me  about."  That  is  what's  the 
matter.  Sailors  cannot  be  brought  to  believe  that  they  are 
to  be  translated  right  into  heaven.  No.  The  poor,  sim- 
ple souls  want  to  go  there  the  way  other  people  do ;  and 
who  can  blame  them  ?  Surely  no  reasonable  person. 

133.  But  how  is  it  that  the  few  Christian  sailors  get 
along  without  families  ?      They  do  not  get  along  at   all 
without  them.     Show  us  a  Christian   sailor,  and  we  will 
show  you  a  man  who  will,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  have 
a  family  in  less  than  five  years.     But  does  not  that  state- 
ment, if  true,  disprove  the  assertion  that  a  sailor  cannot 
support  a  family  ?     By  no  means.     Those  very  men  know 
that  they  cannot  support  families  by  going  to  sea;  and  so 
they  are  constantly  on  the  watch  for  something  to  do  on 
shore  ;  and,  in  time,  they  generally  succeed ;  and  then  they 
get  married.     Besides,  it  is  only  the  most  intelligent  sea- 
men that  are  generally  converted ;  and  those  are  the  very 
ones  who  can  best  get  a  living  on  shore.     The  greater  part 
of  the  old  Tritons  have  never  done  any  thing  else  but  follow 
their  calling;    and   it  would   be   very  difficult   for   them, 
ignorant  and  degraded  as  they  are,  to  find  employment  on 
the  land. 

134.  It  is  a  great  evil  to  have  the  best-behaved  sailors 
quit  a  seafaring  life   because   it  will   not   afford   them  a 
living.      Society   suffers  by    it,    and   the   nation   likewise. 
How  many  calamitous  accidents  would  be  avoided,  if  the 
men  of  the  sea  were  all  what  they  should  be  !     T/tousands 


A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP.  115 

of  valuable  lives  are  lost  every  year,  and  millions  of  prop- 
erty, through  the  carelessness,  inefficiency,  and  misbehavior 
of  many  of  the  officers  and  seamen  that  now  carry  on  the 
commerce  of  the  world.  Surely  no  right-minded  person 
would  be  indifferent  as  to  what  kind  of  a  crew  might  have 
his  own  life  in  charge,  and  perhaps  the  lives  of  his  wife 
and  children,  on  some  rock-bound  coast.  But  somebody's 
wives  and  children  are  constantly  exposed  to  danger  in  that 
way ;  and,  we  repeat,  it  is  for  the  interest  of  all  our  citi- 
zens to  provide  means  to  secure  competent  and  well-behaved 
men  to  navigate  our  vessels. 

135.  But  perhaps  it  may  be  objected  by  some,  that  the 
foregoing  statements  do  not  present  the  highest  class  of 
motives  to  sailors  to  induce  them  to  become  Christians. 
God  must  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  and  not 
for  the  loaves  and  the  fishes.  The  Bible  commands  men 
to  attend  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls  before  they  think 
of  any  thing  else  ;  for  all  are  given  to  understand  that  their 
labors  will  be  in  vain,  unless  they  "  seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness."  Why  is  it,  then,  that 
sailors  cannot  be  converted,  and  become  good  men,  without 
getting  married  ?  Why  is  it,  that  they  cannot  serve  God 
in  any  circumstances,  especially  when  he  informs  us  that 
we  must  do  so  in  order  to  be  saved  ?  We  must  be  willing 
to,  indeed ;  but  the  interesting  question  occurs,  How  shall 
we  be  made  willing  ?  Does  not  God,  in  the  first  place,  ap- 
peal to  every  faculty  of  our  natures,  by  placing  motives 
before  us  which  affect  not  only  our  spiritual,  but  also  our 
temporal  well-being.  Does  he  not  give  us  "line  upon  line, 
and  precept  upon  precept,"  repeatedly  telling  us  that  it  is 
his  will  that  we  shall  be  saved  from  every  form  of  sin  and 
transgression  here,  for  our  own  good?  Does  he  not  tell  us 
that  he  is  doing  all  that  even  a  God  can  do,  consistent 
with  the  truth  and  fitness  of  things,  to  make  us  happy  and 


116  A   VOICE  FROM   THE   DEEP. 

comfortable  even  in  this  life?  Our  first  motives  for  being 
Christians  spring  from  self-love.  We  believe  the  change 
will  do  us  good,  else  we  should  never  attempt  to  make  it. 
We  do  not  like  to  look  too  far  off  for  that  good  either, 
but  we  desire  immediate  good;  and  why  should  not  the 
sailor  ?  Christianity  is  very  good ;  but  she  has  never  yet 
held  out  much  to  seamen  which  they  could  appreciate. 
Like  the  enslaved  Jews  in  Egypt,  they  cannot  hear  the 
voice  of  spiritual  deliverance  for  cruel  bondage.  They 
cannot  be  taught  to  love  a  religion  full  of  abstractions. 

136.  The  sailor  knows  as  well  as  anybody,  that  he  is 
pursuing  a  course  which  leads  continually  to  sin  and 
misery.  He  knows  that  he  does  wrong  when  he  gets 
drunk,  uses  profane  language,  or  goes  to  the  "  house  of 
death."  But  what  else  shall  he  do  ?  There  is  a  restless 
spirit  within  him,  which  ever  prompts  him  to  seek  after 
happiness.  He  meets  with  no  encouragement  to  seek  for  it 
in  the  exercise  of  the  higher  faculties  of  his  nature ;  and 
so  he  allows  his  appetites  and  passions  to  control  him,  in- 
stead of  his  controlling  them  ;  and,  as  they  are  often  under 
the  influence  of  baneful  stimulants,  where  else  can  they  lead 
him,  but  to  ruin  and  disgrace  ?  He  knows  that  landsmen 
profess  to  have  a  religion -which  gives  them  hopes  of  happi- 
ness and  felicity  in  another  life  ;  but  that  is  nearly  all  he 
understands  about  the  matter;  and,  to  his  mind,  it  might  as 
well  be  the  paradise  of  Mohammed  as  the  "heaven  with 
golden  streets,"  which  many  professed  Christians  love  to  con- 
template. Whatever  effect,  therefore,  the  hopes  of  a  state 
of  bliss  in  another  life  may  have  on  some  people,  to  induce 
them  to  become  converted,  and  teachable  like  little  chil- 
dren, it  is  nevertheless  certain  such  motives  cannot  avail 
much  with  the  sailor.  Present  blessings  are  what  he 
wants  and  needs;  and,  if  he  cannot  get  them  of  God's  pro- 
fessed people,  how  can  he  be  expected  to  have  confidence  in 
their  God,  or  in  the  sincerity  of  their  religion  ? 


A  VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP.  117 

• 

137.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  many  of  our  professed  Chris- 
tians are  inclined  to  take  more  stock  in  a  future  life  than 
is  consistent  with  their  present  needs  and  obligations.     We 
should  think  a  man  acted  strangely,  if  we  saw  him  invest- 
ing all   his  money  in*  bonds,  mortgages,  and   banks,  while 
his  wife  and  children  were  starving,  and  clothed  in  rags. 
He  should,  at  least,  reserve  enough    to  satisfy  his  present 
necessities,   and  pay  all  of  his  just  debts.     Speculations 
about  a  future  life  may  be  pleasing  to  the  Christian  at 
times,  especially  as  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  we 
shall  be  happier  then  than  now  ;  happier,  because  the  lapse 
of  time,   and  a  sanctified  experience,  will  give  us  a  greater 
measure  of  faith,  love,   and  knowledge,   and  every  other 
Christian   attribute   and   grace  whereby  we  can  spiritually 
see,  love,  and  comprehend  God.     It  is  not  for  a  moment  to 
be  supposed  that  a  material  heaven,  with  golden  streets 
and  a  thousand   other  fancied  embellishments,  can  ever 
make  an  intelligent  Christian  happy.     Such  a  place,  with 
nothing  to  do,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  houries,  might 
satisfy  the  spiritual  cravings  of  such  men  as  Mohammed, 
and  Good  Haroun  Alraschid;   but  it   could  never  fill  the 
heart  of  a  man  who  had  once,  tasted  of  Christ's  love.     The 
desjre  expressed  by  St.  Paul,  "to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ,"  cannot  be  construed  into  an  ignominious  wish  to 
cease  from  doing  good,  or  into  a  sensual  longing  for  material 
pleasures.     There  are  times  in  the  life  of  every  man  when 
tired  nature  seeks  a  momentary  respite  from  the  active  du- 
ties of  life.     When  the  shades  of  evening  close  around  the 
man  of  toil  and  many  cares,  exhausted  nature  sometimes  in- 
duces a  temporary  depression  of  spirits ;  and  for  the  moment 
he  almost  feels  like  Elijah  when  he  made  his  impassioned 
appeal  at  the  foot  of  Horeb  ;  but,  after  a  few  hours  of  sweet 
repose,  he  rises  fresh  and  vigorous,  ready  to  anoint  Jehu, 
stand  before   Caesar,  or  do  any  thing,  through  Christ  who 
lias  engaged  to  strengthen  him. 


118  A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP. 

138.  The  fact  is,  when  we  talk  about  localities  and  mate- 
rial things  as  appertaining  to  a  future  state,  we  do  it  about 
as   intelligent!}'  as  a  man  tbat  has  been  blind  from  his 
birth  can  judge  of  colurs.     We  can  know  but  very  little 
about  our  status  in  the  world  of  spirits,  simply  because  we 
have  no  experiences  to  guide  our  judgment ;  nor  is  it  neces- 
sary that  we  should  have,  when  our  Saviour  expressly  de- 
clares that  we  should  rather  look  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
within  us  than  be  speculating,  as  some  of  his  disciples  did, 
about  a  temporal   kingdom    which    existed   only   in    their 
imagination.     Love  is  the  essence  of  heaven ;  and,  like  the 
rose,  it  does  not  depend  altogether  for  its  sweetness  on  the 
soil  from  which  it  derives  its  nourishment.     Are  young 
lovers    always    particular    to    choose    daylight,     splendid 
scenery,  and  publicity,  for  those  seasons  of  soul-communion 
that  so  much  resemble  the  sweet  and  immortal  joys  of 
heaven  ?     By  no  means.     They  prefer  the  subdued   light 
of  the  moon,  and  the  solitude  of  the  ocean's  foaming  beach, 
where  nought  can  be  heard  but  the  awful  voice  of  Nature, 
making  a  ceaseless  response  to  those  sentiments  of  truth 
and  love  which  "  flutter  in  the  heart,"  and  "  tremble  on  the 
tongue,"  of  those  faithful  and  guileless  beings  whom  God 
designs  to  be  one  iu  spirit  and  one   in   flesh.     A  great 
white  throne  and  golden  streets  in  the  far-off  future  may 
be  all  well  enough ;  but,  we  repeat,  such  a  heaven  is  above 
the  comprehension  of  such  creatures  as  seamen.     Our  con- 
templations of  God  enthroned  in  a  material  heaven  must 
always  be  extremely  vague.     Christ  enthroned  in  the  hu- 
man heart  we  can  all  understand  if  we  will. 

139.  What  we  now  wish  to  make  apparent  is  the  uncon- 
trovertible  fact,  that  sailors  must  be  saved  and  brought  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  here,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
human  agents,  be-fore  it  will  be  very  profitable  to  talk  to  them 
much  about  their  interests  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave. 


A   VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP.  110 

Our  .Saviour  said,  that  in  his  Father's  house  were  many 
mansions ;  and  we  presume  it  must  be  the  design  of  Infi- 
nite Wisdom  to  have  vicious  and  depraved  men  go  first  into 
the  lowest  room  in  the  school  of  Divine  Providence,  where 
they  can  learn  to  conduct  themselves  properly  in  the 
departments  above  them. 

ggr  The  only  part  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  which  the 
sailor  can  understand  and  appreciate  at  first  will  be  a  snug 
little  place  to  live  on  shore  between  his  voyages,  presided 
over  by  a  lovely  and  sympathizing  wife,  and  an  income 
sufficient  to  support  her.  Is  that  an  unreasonable  aspira- 
tion on  his  part  ?  Is  it  not  what  all  good  men  seek  after  ? 
Is  it  not  what  all  must  have  in  order  that  holiness  and 
righteousness  and  joy  may  prevail  in  this  present  world  ? 
Give  to  the  sailor  these  things,  and  we  give  him  the  alpha- 
bet of  knowledge,  and  then  good  people  can  teach  him  how 
to  make  farther  advances  in  the  school  of  heavenly  wis- 
dom. 

140.  Christ  taught  his  disciples  to  pray.  In  the  pat- 
tern which  he  gave  them,  the  applicants  were  instructed  to 
use  the  plural  personal  pronoun  when  petitioning  for  gen- 
eral blessings,  and  not  say,  "  My  Father  which  art  in 
heaven,"  but  "  Our  Father,"  meaning  that  they  should  ask 
for  others  as  well  as  themselves.  What,  then,  shall  we 
ask  for  the  sailor  ?  Shall  we  pray  to  our  common  Father 
to  give  him  a  contented  mind  and  a  generous  heart,  that 
shall  feel  willing  that  all  other  classes  of  men  shall  be 
secure  in  the  possession  of  all  earthly  blessings,  while  he 
must  serve  them,  and  feed  his  soul  on  spirituality,  and 
hopes  that  must  find  their  consummation  beyond  the  grave, 
and  in  the  grave  we  had  almost  said?  We  ask  God  to  give 
us  blessings ;  and  he  does  so,  not  miraculously,  but  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature.  A  wife  and  children  (the  great- 
est of  earthly,  and  not  the  least  of  spiritual  blessings)  are 


120  A   VOICE   FROM   THE  DEEP. 

his  gift;  but  they  come  by  natural  means,  through  human 
agency,  and  not  miraculously.  It  must  be  our  business, 
therefore,  to  see  that  all  are  provided  for;  else  our  brethren 
of  the  sea  cannot  behold  in  our  countenances  the  face  of 
God  (Gen.  xxxiii.  10). 

141.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  avoid  our  responsibility  in 
these  matters.     The  eye  that  never  sleeps  is  upon  us;  and 
the  heart  that  never  ceases  to  beat  with  sympathy  for  the 
distresses  of  the  wanderer  and  the  outcast  will  not  hold  us 
guiltless,  if  we  turn  away,  like  the  Levite,  and  walk  on  the 
other  side.     God  has  in  his  bounty  given  some  of  us  far 
more  blessings  than  we  can  use ;  but  somebody  needs  them. 
The  world  abounds  in  sin  and  suffering ;   and,  until  it  is 
completely  renovated,  our  work  in  never  done.     People  talk 
about  leisure ;  but  there  is  no  leisure.     Love  is  an  active 
being,   who  will  hardly  suffer  her  children  to   get   their 
necessary   sleep.       Behold   that   loving    mother   watching 
beside  her  sick  child !     How  many  hours  does  she  spend  in 
sleep?     How,  then,  can  the  love  of  God  allow  his  children 
to  be  idle  ?     Let  them  work  "  while  it  is  day :   the  night 
cometh,    when    no    man    can    work."      Human    wisdom 
points  in  the  same  direction ;  for  "  there  will  be  sleeping 
enough  in  the  grave,"  as  Poor  Richard  says.     We  are  the 
almoners  of  God's  blessings  to  mankind  to  the  extent  of  our 
several  abilities ;  and  is  it  not  our  business  to  answer  our 
own  prayers  by  our  own  individual  exertions,  as  far  as  they 
can  be  answered  in  that  way  ?     One  thing  is  certain  :  God 
will  never  do  for  us  what  he  has  given  us  power  to  do  for 
ourselves ;  and  he  has  often  declared,  that  he  not  only  wants, 
but  needs,  our  services  in  his  vineyard,  where  the  fruits  are 
not  gathered  for  the  lack  of  laborers. 

142.  It  must,  therefore,  be  obvious  to  every  one  that  has 
any  suitable  regard  for  the  dignity  of  man,  that  he  is  con- 
stituted the  honored  and  intelligent-  agent  of  most  of  the 


A    VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  121 

moral  and  spiritual  blessings  which  God  designs  to  bestow 
upon  the  human  race.  It  is  the  second  great  law  of  God 
established  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  he  shall  love  his 
brother-man  as  himself,  and  do  all  that  lays  in  his  power 
to  secure  for  every  human  being  the  same  blessings  that  he 
enjoys  himself.  The  sailor  must  have  a  wife ;  and  Chris- 
tianity must  furnish  him  with  one.  The  poor,  fallen,  and 
friendless  woman  who  is  called  an  outcast  by  society  must 
have  a  husband ;  and  Christianity  must  attend  to  her  needs. 
The  offspring  of  these  suffering  people  will,  in  due  time, 
furnish  well-behaved,  intelligent,  and  efficient  crews  for  our 
ships;  and  they  will  be  Americans,  which  will  be  one 
grand  result  of  Christianity.  Thousands,  yes,  hundreds 
of  thousands,  will  be  released  from  a  worse  than  Egyptian 
bondage,  and  brought  into  a  civilized  condition  as  fast  as 
circumstances  will  allow,  which  will,  at  the  farthest,  be 
in  the  next  generation.  Will  not  such  facts  as  these  give 
Christians  and  patriots  cause  for  rejoicing?  Americans 
will  then  be  better  respected  abroad ;  whereas  now  their 
ships  are  a  disgrace  to  the  country  they  hail  from,  at  least 
in  many  instances.  All,  or  nearly  all,  the  troubles  on 
board  of  vessels  on  account  of  having  bad  crews  and  offi- 
cers will  quickly  regulate  themselves,  which  will  be  another 
great  blessing.  It  will  also  operate  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of  all  good  men  in  their  benevolent  enterprises,  and 
assist  powerfully  in  upholding  every  good  cause. 

143.  Oh  that  society  could  feel  its  responsibility  in  this 
matter,  and  move  in  it  without  delay !  Thousands  are  suf- 
fering and  perishing  even  while  these  lines  are  being 
penned;  and  the  evil  work  is  still  going  on.  Oh  that  vir- 
tuous Christian  families  could  realize  that  the  tokens  of 
their  fearful  responsibility  are  ever  before  their  eyes  !  They 
have  furniture  and  carpets,  and  tea  and  coffee  and  sugar, 

and  a  thousand  other  necessaries  and  luxuries,  furnished 
11 


122  A   VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

them  by  commercial  enterprise ;  and  how  do  they  requite 
the  sailor?  Look  into  the  bosom  of  a  Christian  family  on 
a  Thanksgiving  or  a  Christmas  Day,  and  see  how  it  reflects 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  sire  feels  supremely  happy, 
for  he  sees  those  around  him  that  lie  has  blesaed,  and  we 
feel  interested  in  and  love  those  we  work  for.  The  mother 
is  supremely  happy  in  her  husband's  and  in  her  children's 
love ;  and  the  children  are  happy  in  the  midst  of  present 
blessings  and  future  hopes.  But  where  is  the  sailor?  He 
has  no  home.  No  children 


"  Climb  his  knee 
The  envied  king  to  share." 


If  he  were  passing  through  a  snow-drift,  benumbed  with 
cold,  at  the  door  of  the  aforesaid  Christian  home,  he  would 
hardly  be  asked  to  come  in  and  warm  himself,  and  partake 
of  their  sumptuous  repast.  In  the  name  of  that  Being  who 
came  into  the  world  to  befriend  and  save  sinners,  are  such 
things  right?  Is  it  not  enough  to  melt  into  tenderness 
a  heart  of  stone,  to  reflect  upon  them  ?  Truly  "  whosoever 
hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer ; "  for  how  can  any  man 
that  calls  himself  a  Christian  coolly  stand  by  and  see  his 
comrades  drifting  to  destruction,  without  making  some 
effort  to  save  them? 

144.  Perhaps  the  public  would  like  to  know  the  reason 
why  sailors  cannot  support  families.  Do  they  not  receive 
as  much  compensation  for  their  services  as  other  trades- 
men ?  and,  if  not,  why  ?  It  will  be  very  easy  to  show  how 
much  they  get ;  and  it  may  not  be  very  difficult  to  explain 
why  they  get  so  little.  Sailors,  on  an  average,  do  not  get 
work  more  than  ten  months  in  a  year,  and  it  is  very 
doubtful  if  they  much  exceed  nine.  They  have  to  go  to 
boarding-houses  at  the  close  of  every  voyage,  to  await  their 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  123 

pay-days,  and  look  for  other  chances;  and  as  voyages,  as 
now  conducted,  do  not  probably  average  in  length  over 
three  months,  it  is  easy  to  see  where  the  time  is  consumed. 
Sailors  probably  average  two  or  three  weeks  on  shore;  and 
four  such  breakages  in  a  year  would  never  give  them  over 
ten  months'  actual  service ;  while  the  time  sometimes  spent 
in  hospitals,  and  in  going  to  see  their  aged  parents  (if  they 
are  fortunate  enough  to  have  any),  and  many  other  things, 
would  make  their  average  time  much  nearer  nine  months 
than  ten.  Then  they  have  to  pay  a  dollar  per  day  for  their 
board  while  waiting,  and  eight  or  ten  dollars,  perhaps,  in 
the  course  of  a  year  to  have  their  baggage  transported; 
which,  altogether,  we  will  put  down  at  the  minimum  sum 
of  seventy  dollars.  They  require  more  clothing  than  lands- 
men to  keep  them  comfortable;  and,  as  it  is  sometimes 
scarcely  possible  to  keep  any  thing  dry  for  weeks,  their 
garments  rot  quickly,  which  makes  it  necessary  to  buy 
more  or  less  new  articles  every  time  they  come  on  shore. 
Then,  again,  they  are  charged  enormous  prices ;  and,  as 
the  fabric  of  which  their  clothing  is  composed  must  be 
woollen  in  order  to  keep  them  as  much  as  possible  from 
rheumatism,  it  necessarily  costs  very  dear  without  extra 
extortion.  If  we  put  the  sailor's  bill  for  clothing  at  seven- 
ty-five or  eighty  dollars  per  annum  in  these  times,  it  will 
be  about  as  low  a  figure  as  he  can  possibly  use  and  make 
himself  decent  and  comfortable.  Then,  again,  he  has  to 
pay  hospital  money,  which  amounts  to  $4.80  per  year ; 
and  frequently  he  has  to  fee  shipping-agents  for  chances; 
and  his  travelling-expenses,  bills  for  washing,  and  a  dozen 
other  little  items,  amount  to  something;  so  that,  putting 
every  thing  together,  his  own  personal  expenses  cannot 
possibly  amount  to  less  than  a  hundred  and  seventy-five 
dollars  a  jrear ;  and  probably  two  hundred  would  come  much 
nearer  the  truth.  Now  let  us  see  what  he  gets.  The 


124  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

highest  wages  now  paid  to  seamen  from  the  port  of  Boston 
are  twenty-five  dollars  per  month  for  short  voyayes,  and 
eighteen  or  twenty  for  long  ones.     Assuming  the  former 
figures  as  the  basis  of  our  calculations,  and  assuming,  also, 
that  seamen  are  never  shipwrecked,  driven  ashore  in  for- 
eign ports,  nor  cheated  in  any  way,  and  we  have  the  sum 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  ten  months'  work ;  but 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  sailors  do  not  get  as  much  as  that  one 
time  in  twenty.     If,  now,  we  subtract  from  this  sum  his 
necessary  expenses,  which  we    have  reckoned  at  a  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  dollars,  we  shall  have  seventy-five 
dollars  remaining,  which  would  not  pay  the  rent  of  two 
good  rooms  in  the  vicinity  of  such  a  place  as  Boston,  and 
leaves  no  margin  whatever  which  could  be  used  for  the 
support  of  a  family.     A   common   day-laborer  along  the 
wharves  gets  from  thirty  to  fifty  cents  an  hour ;   and,  if  he 
cannot  get  work  over  half  the  time,  we  see  that  his  earn- 
ings amount  to  more  than  double  the  sailor's.  k  A  sailor's 
work,  too,  calls  for  skilled  labor,  and  requires  four  years' 
service  from  a  man  of  good  abilities  to  master  all  of  its 
mysteries.     But  no  tradesman  thinks  of  working  for  less 
than  from  thirty  to  fifty  cents  an  hour,  averaging,  probably, 
nearly  three-fourths  of  the  time ;   and  then  they  declare 
they  have  to  study  economy  to  make  both  ends  meet.     If, 
therefore,  a  tradesman,  with  fewer  personal  expenses,  and 
three  times  as  much  pay,  as  the  sailor,  finds  it  difficult  to 
support  a  family  decently  and  comfortably,  it  is,  of  course, 
useless  for  seamen  to  ever  think  of  such  a  thing;  and  so 
the  sanctified  influences  of  love,  and  the  divine  institution 
of  marriage,  are  forever  debarred  the  sailor. 

145.  Well:  it  is  demanded,  How  came  things  in  such 
a  state  ?  What  is  the  reason  sailors  cannot  resort  to  strikes, 
the  same  as  other  tradesmen,  and  get  suitable  wages  ?  We 
have  already  proved  that  the  business  of  ship-owners  will 


A   VOICE  FEOM  THE  DEEP.  125 

not  warrant  striking.      Merchants   are   clearly  unable   to 
give  higher  wages  ;  for,  if  they  should  attempt  such  a  thing, 
they  could  not  compete  with  foreigners,  and  the  little  ship- 
ping we  have  left  us  would  speedily  be  driven  from  the 
deep.     In  order  to  find  out  how  things  came  to  be  in  such 
a  miserable  condition,  we  must  go  away  back  to  the  dark 
ages,  when  to  be  a  poor  man  was  to  be  but  one  degree  re- 
moved from  a  slave.     After  the  discovery  of  America  by 
Columbus,  and  even  before,  a  spirit  of  commercial  enter- 
prise began  to  be  felt  in  Europe ;   and  several  nobles  and 
other  rich  men  fitted  out  small  expeditions  to  go  to  the 
newly-discovered   countries,    and   trade   with   the   natives. 
These  expeditions  were  generally  commanded  by  rich  and 
influential  men,  and  the  vessels,  in  the  main,  officered  by 
those  who  were  at  home  esteemed    gentlemen ;    but  the 
crews  in  those  days  were  slaves  in  the  worst  sense  of  the 
word.      They  were  generally  completely  at  the  mercy  of 
their  officers,  and  might  be  tortured  by  the  cat,  triced  up  by 
the  thumbs,  flogged  through  the  fleet,  keel-hauled,  or  hung 
at  the  yard-arm,  just  as  the  will  and  caprices  of  their  haughty 
and  imperious  commanders  dictated.     The  commercial  en- 
terprises, in  those  days,  were  seldom  but  little  better  than 
piratical  expeditions,  though  people  at  that  time  did  not  so 
regard  them.     Most  of  the  common  sailors  would  serve  in 
pirates  and  the   so-called  merchantmen    alternately ;    and 
they  were  treated   about  alike   in   both.      The   principal 
inducements  for  common  sailors  to  go  to  sea  in  those  adven- 
turous times  were  the  same  as  those  held  out  by  Wallen- 
stein  and  Tilly  to  their  barbarous  troops  ;  namely,  plunder 
and  lust.     In  all  slave  and  piratical  expeditions,  and,  indeed, 
in  most  others,   sailors  were  allowed  every  facility  to  de- 
bauch themselves  with    the  savages  of  the  foreign  climes 
they  visited ;  and  they  might  also  rob,  plunder,  and  even 
murder,  at  their  pleasure,  as  long  as  they  did  not  get  the 
11* 


126  A   VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

vessels  into  trouble  with  their  proceedings.  Wages  for 
seamen  were  merely  nominal  up  to  within  a  very  recent 
period ;  and,  as  late  as  revolutionary  times,  they  were  not 
paid  more  than  six  or  seven  dollars  a  month  on  East-India 
voyages.  In  England,  it  was  always  customary  to  kidnap, 
not  only  sailors,  but  watermen,  and  many  others  who  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  poor,  and  compel  them  to  go  and 
serve  in  the  king's  ships  just  as  long  as  the  king  pleased. 
And,  even  in  American  ships,  it  is  not  long  since  a  sailor 
could  be  whipped  almost  to  death  with  the  cat,  to  satisfy 
the  drunken  malice  of  almost  any  petty  commander ;  and 
there  could  be  nothing  done  about  it  on  shore  that  would 
give  the  least  satisfaction  to  justice.  The  present  status 
of  seamen  then  took  its  departure  from  the  most  debasi//;/ 
form  of  slavery  ;  and,  although  some  of  tlie  most  repulsive 
features  of  the  monster  are  measurably  taken  away, 
enough  remains  to  disgrace  any  country  or  people  that  will 
tolerate  such  a  relic  of  barbarism  among  them. 

146.  It  is  astonishing  what  changes  have  taken  place  in 
this  and  in  almost  every  other  country  within  the  last  cen- 
tury. A  hundred  years  ago  the  appearance  of  a  comet  in 
the  heavons  was  thought  by  the  ignorant  masses  to  portend 
the  destruction  of  the  universe;  and  the  common  people 
almost  universally  believed  in  witches,  times,  enchant- 
ments, and  wizards.  Those  things  have  not  all  passed 
away  yet :  but  still  the  sun  has  risen  high  enough  in  the 
heavens  to  peer  down  brightly  through  the  fog ;  and  the 
foundations  of  society  are  being  every  day  more  securely 
laid.  Error  is  now  obliged  to  paint  her  face,  and  dress  up 
in  all  kinds  of  shapes,  to  make  her  hideous  form  appear 
lovely  ;  and  then  she  fails  in  many  instances.  In  vain  has 
she  improved  witchcraft  to  spiritualism,  superstition  to  self- 
righteousness,  and  licentiousness  to  free-thinking:  all  will 
not  do.  Her  enemies  have  found  her  out;  and  a  thousand 


A   VOICE   FROM   THE  DEEP.  127 

printing-presses  are  daily  and  hourly  exposing  her  deformi- 
ties. Men  of  nearly  all  classes  and  professions,  in  nearly 
all  civilized  countries,  now  know  something  of  what  it  is  to 
be  really  free.  They  are  not  entirely  dependent  on  the  rich 
for  their  living,  or  even  for  their  rights  ;  and  they  are  not 
obliged  to  hide  their  Bibles  under  their  chair-cushions  for 
fear  of  the  malice  of  the  informer.  The  rights,  relations, 
and  duties  of  all,  are  now  quite  clearly  denned ;  and  it  is 
supposed,  that,  in  most  instances,  a  man's  wages  correctly 
represent  the  services  he  has  rendered  to  society. 

147.  Things  have  arrived  at  their  present  stage  of  per- 
fection by  the  slow  but  sure  march  of  civilization  and  en- 
lightened ideas.     Men  have  been  constrained,  from  time  to 
time,  to  renounce  error,  and  make  mutual  concessions  to 
each  other.     Sometimes  they  have  been  forced  by  strikes 
and  the  will  of  majorities,  and  sometimes  benevolence  has 
been  the  primal  motive:  but,  in  all  cases,  there  has  been 
a  steady  advance ;  and  many  sanguine  people  are  beginning 
to  hope  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant,  when  the  "  Adver- 
sary "  will  be  entirely  driven  out  of  his  intrenchments,  and 
consigned  to  the  "  hole  in  the  side  of  the  hill,"  where  Bun- 
yan  used  to  delight  to  have  him.     We  have  seen,  however, 
in  the  course  of  this  work,  that  the  enemy  yet  holds  one 
advanced  position  on  the  battle-field,  from  which   he  has 
never  yet  been  dislodged.     He  has  deceived  people  during 
the  last  seventy-five  years  by  telling  them  that  freight  is 
necessarily  the  mother  of  wages  for  the  sailor;  when  facts 
prove  that  she  is  not.     At  any  rate,  if  the  present  rates 
of  wages  are  her  offspring,  they  do  not  reflect  much  credit 
on  their  parent  among  mothers,  who  are  generally  observed 
to  be  anxious  to  have  big  babies. 

148.  No:  Commerce  should  be  the  mother  of  wages,  and 
Freight  her  handmaid ;  and  then  the  sailor  could  live.     And 
it  is  plainly  the  duty  of  society  to  support  Commerce  in  a 


128  A   VOICE    FROM  THE  DEEP. 

position  where  she  can  give  all  of  her  children  as  good  a 
living,  and  as  many  advantages,  as  the  other  department* 
of  national  industry  secure  to  theirs  ;  and  if  that  cannot 
be  done  without  paying  a  little  more  for  tea,  coffee,  *;/</"/•. 
&c.,  then  the  people  ought  to  be  willing  to  do  it  without 
delay,  and  give  the  proceeds  to  the  men  ivho  scour  the  seas, 
and  encounter  all  kinds  of  discomforts,  hardships,  and  dan- 
gers, to  furnish  necessaries  and  luxuries  for  tJie  other  mem- 
bers of  society.  Commerce  should  be  entirely  rescued  from 
every  vestige  of  piracy  and  barbarism,  and  forever  weaned 
from  those  nurses  of  her  infancy,  that  are  now,  in  another 
shape,  seeking  to  prostitute  her  to  tyranny,  injustice,  celibacy, 
intemperance,  and  licentiousness.  Because  marriage  wns 
not  thought  of  for  sailors  in  the  time  of  Henry  the  Eighth, 
it  surely  does  not  follow  that  it  can  be  improper  now. 
That  consummate  scoundrel  would  doubtless  have  mo- 
nopolized all  the  women  in  creation  if  it  had  been  in  his 
power. 

149.  The  low  rates  of  wages  established  by  slavery  in  the 
infancy  of  commerce  have  changed  but  slowly,  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons :  The  rates  of  freight  then  paid  corresponded 
with  what  had  to  be  paid  the  sailor ;  and,  as  his  services 
were  easily  secured  for  a  very  small  pittance,  it  follows  that 
the  whole  of  society  has  been  pecuniarily  interested,  from 
the  time  freighting  was  established  to  the  present  day,  to 
keep  his  wages  low,  in  order  that  the  products  of  commerce 
might  be  kept  low;  and  so  we  can  see  that  the  whole  of 
society  is  directly  responsible  for  all  the  -vice,  depravity, 
ignorance,  and  misery  that  is  caused  by  withholding  from 
seamen  a  just  equivalent  for  their  services.  Yes :  every 
act  of  drunkenness  and  debauchery  that  sailors  are  guilty 
of,  and  all  the  terrible  evils  resulting  from  their  conduct, 
can  be  traced  right  into  the  bosom  of  every  family  iu  the 
land,  —  the  purest  and  most  virtuous  not  excepted. 


A  VOICE   FROM   THE  DEEP.  129 

150.  The  motives  of  lust  and  plunder  are  not  so  effica- 
cious now  to  induce  men  to  adopt  a  seafaring  life  as  they 
were  a  hundred  years  ago ;  but  still,  among  the  poor  and 
degraded  population  of  some  of  the  European  seaports,  men 
can  be  found  who  are  willing  to  go  to  sea  on  almost  any 
terms ;  and,  through  the  agency  of  sailors'  boarding-houses 
and  runners,  enough  can  always  be  found  to  make  up  the 
complements,   in  numbers  at  least,  for  all  of   our  ships. 
Such  men,  however,  have  but  very  little  to  say  about  what 
their  wages  shall  be.     That  is  all  determined  by  the  board- 
ing-master and  the  broker,  who  works  for  his  own  and  the 
merchant's  interest;  and,  among  them  all,  they  are  carrying 
on  as  brisk  and   extensive  a  slave-trade    as   Toombs  and 
Davis  could  possibly  wish  to  see.     We  affect  to  pity  the 
poor  wretches  who  are  violently  torn  from  their  homes,  and 
sold  to  the  Arabs  in  the  regions  of  inter-tropical  Africa; 
but  we  have,  right  in  our  midst,  a  system  of  slavery  more 
repulsive  if  possible,  inasmuch  as  our  slaves  are  treated 
hypocritically.      We  pretend  to  think  highly  of  the  noble, 
brave,  and  generous  "sons  of  Neptune  ;"  and,  at  the  same 
time,  we  stand  by  and  see  them  used  like  Leasts  for  our 
benefit. 

151.  With  regard  to  strikes,  very  little  need  be  said,  as 
they  are  wholly  impracticable  for  the  sailor.     The  compe- 
tition of  foreigners  prevents  them,  for  one  thing;  but,  on 
other  accounts,  they  are  not  available  for  seamen.     They 
are  in  no  condition  to  carry  on  a  strike.     If  they  were  liv- 
ing on  shore  with  their  families,   by  using   the  strictest 
economy  they  might  hold  out  a  good  while;  but  boarding- 
masters  have  no  particular  ends  of  their  own  to  serve  by 
securing  a  large  increase  in  the  sailors'  wages.     Most  of 
them  know  very  well,  that,  if  sailors  were  paid  like  other 
men,  the  effect  would  be  to  break  up  about  two-thirds  of  all 
the  seamen's  boarding-houses  in  the  country,   and  leave 


130  A  VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP. 

only  the  best;  but,  while  things  are  taking  their  present 
course,  they  have  but  little  to  fear  from  that  quarter. 
Truly  the  children  of  this  world  are  wiser  in  their  genera- 
tion than  the  children  of  light.  The  different  landlords  do 
contract  with  each  other,  sometimes,  not  to  let  men  go  out 
of  their  houses  for  less  than  a  certain  rate  of  wages ;  but 
such  contracts  amount  to  nothing,  except  to  delude  the 
sailor  into  the  belief  that  the  landlord  is  his  friend.  In- 
deed, such  a  declaration  or  contract  has  the  mark  of  the 
cloven  foot  on  the  very  face  of  it;  for  it  furnishes  conclusive 
evidence  that  the  sailor  is  not  accounted  his  own  master. 
Landlords  know  well  enough  that  the  small  fluctuations  in 
sailors'  wages  are  wholly  regulated  by  demand  and  supply, 
and  not  at  all  affected  by  any  of  their  "benevolent  con- 
tracts." 

152.  It  is  very  evident,  then,  that  seamen  are  in  no  con- 
dition to  help  themselves.  They  are  down,  and  kept  down 
by  forces  which  must  be  dealt  with  by  others,  before  we 
shall  ever  have  a  millennium  upon  the  water.  They  will, 
doubtless,  be  ready  to  help  when  the  time  of  their  deliver- 
ance shall  come ;  but  we  cannot  be  justified  at  first  in 
expecting  very  much  from  them.  It  may  seem  easy  to  the 
comparatively  virtuous  for  every  one  to  forsake  vice,  and 
embrace  virtue ;  but  it  is  not  easy.  Let  any  one  try  to 
break  off  from  an  old  habit,  and  he  will  find  that  it  will  be 
like  cutting  off  a  right  hand,  or  plucking  out  a  right  eye. 
The  life-boat  must  be  launched  and  manned  by  others ;  and 
the  poor  souls  will  do  well  if  they  can  keep  their  heads 
above  water  until  they  are  hauled  in.  On  many  of  the 
exposed  parts  of  our  coast,  little  buildings  are  erected,  called 
"huts  of  refuge,"  or  life-boat  stations,  where  life-boats, 
mortars,  and  other  means  for  saving  life,  are  kept  with  a 
view  to  assist  in  saving  the  bodies  of  any  poor  shipwrecked 
seamen  who  may  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  cast  away  on 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 


131 


our  inhospitable  coast  in  the  winter.  They  are  established 
and  supported  by  humane  societies ;  and  they  cost  considera- 
ble money  every  year.  All  honor  to  the  noble  members 
of  every  such  society,  and  to  those  heroic  men  who  are 
willing  to  hazard  their  own  lives  to  save  their  fellow-crea- 
tures from  drowning !  Let  us  now  look  around,  and  see 
where  we  can  find  means  to  save  the  bodies  and  souls  of 
seamen  from  a  worse  fate  than  drowning,  and  secure  to 
them  a  situation  with  a  "  Captain  who  never  lost  a  ship, 
and  in  a  ship  that  never  was,  nor  ever  will  be,  cast  away." 


CHAPTER  V. 

REMEDIES    FOB    THE    BENEFIT    OF     SEAMEN. HOPE    FOB 

ABANDONED     FEMALES.  —  NATIONAL     RESPONSIBILITY. 
EDUCATION. 

153.  IF,  now,  we  take  a  retrospective  view  of  what  has 
been  said  in  the  preceding  chapters,  we  shall  perceive  that 
the  seamen  of  the  present  day  are  but  very  little  better  off 
than  were  the  African  slaves  who  have  just  been  liberated 
by  our  gigantic  civil  war.     We  shall  see,  too,  that  the  most 
of  their  miseries  and  misfortunes  are  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  cannot  have  any  homes  of  their  own,  because  their  pay 
is  not  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  maintain  famines.     We 
shall  see,  also,  that  the  efforts  of  benevolent  societies  and' 
individuals  in  behalf  of  seamen,  though  highly  useful  and 
praiseworthy,  still  cau  never  remove   a  tithe  of  the  evils 
which  beset  the  sailor;  and  in   many  instances  they  are 
rendered  abortive  by  circumstances  and  conditions  which 
they  were  never  calculated  to  cope  with  successfully.     It 
must  also  be  apparent  to  every  one,  that  the  cheapest  as 
well  as  the  most  efficacious  way  to  deal  with  seamen  will  be 
to  proceed  at  once  to  remove  all  the  evils  to  which  they  are, 
as  a  class,  subjected,  and  to  do  it  thoroughly,  so  that  there 
shall  hereafter  exist  no  necessity  for  undoing  what  has  been 
done  in  order  to  commence  operations  afresh.     Who  will 
and  who  can  do  this  great  work  ?     Let  us  now  see. 

154.  In  looking  round  about  us  in  search  of  ways  and 
means,  we  can  find  a  multitude  of  noble  men  and  women 

132 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  133 

ready  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  this  or  in  any  other  good 
work;  but  here  is  a  field  large  enough  to  tax  the  energies 
of  all.  No  single  society  is  large  enough  to  deal  with  the 
reforms  which  are  here  presented ;  and  so,  for  ability  and 
help,  we  must  look  to  the  nation.  It  must  be  the  nation's 
pride  and  glory  alone  to  give  liberty  to  her  children.  Let 
America  do  this  great  work  as  thoroughly  and  effectually 
as  she  has  done  others  of  like  character,  and  she  will  still 
maintain  her  right  to  be  called  the  head  of  the  nations. 
May  the  heart  of  every  true  patriot  burn  with  a  desire  to 
have  every  evil  removed  from  his  country,  so  that  she  shall 
be  a  bright  and  beautiful  example  to  induce  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  to  "  go  and  do  likewise  "  ! 

155.  But  how,  it  may  be  asked,  can  this  work  be  done 
by  the  nation  ?  How  can  the  nation  change  freights,  break 
up  bad  seamen's  boarding-houses,  and  give  her  sailors  rights 
and  wives  and  homes  and  property  ?  Simply  by  adopting 
them  as  her  wards,  and  giving  them  a  small  pension,  which, 
with  what  they  can  earn  at  sea,  will  be  sufficient  to  main- 
tain their  families  in  the  most  humble  manner.  Such  a 
measure  would  have  the  effect  to  create,  at  least,  fifty  thou- 
sand new  homes  in  the  United  States,  and  raise  a  hundred 
thousand  people  from  almost  the  lowest  depths  of  degrada- 
tion and  vice.  It  would  give  to  the  nation  from  seventy- 
five  to  a  hundred  thousand  of  the  very  best  kind  of  seamen 
to  man  her  navy  in  case  of  a  foreign  war,  and  also  make  it 
easy  to  carry  out  the  law  which  requires  that  two-thirds  of 
the  crew  of  every  vessel  shall  be  Americans.  That  law  is  con- 
stantly evaded  now;  but,  in  order  to  do  it,  captains  have  to 
swear  in  the  custom-houses  that  two-thirds  of  their  crews  are, 
to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  and  belief,  Americans,  when 
they  are  morally  certain  that  such  is  not  the  case.  It 
would  occupy  too  much  time  and  space  to  enumerate  all  the 
advantages  which  would  result  from  the  adoption  of  such 
la 


134  A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

a  measure ;  but  they  can  easily  be  imagined  by  any  accu- 
rately-informed and  reflecting  mind.  That  blessings  of 
the  highest  value  would  accrue  to  the  sailor,  none  can  for 
a  moment  doubt. 

156.  But  here  we  shall  probably  be  interrupted  by  a 
thousand  croaking  voices,  crying  out,  "  We  must  have  econ- 
omy:  we    must   have   retrenchment  even.      We   are  now 
burdened  with  a  terrible  debt ;  and  here  you  come  petition- 
ing shamelessly  for  our  very  heart's   blood.      We  cannot 
and  will  not  endure  it.     Away  with  all  your  idle,  designing 
schemes  and  vagaries,  and  let  the  miserable,  drunken,  vaga- 
bond  sailors   and   their   female   coadjutors   take    care    of 
themselves !     Let  them  learn  to  save  what  money  they  do 
get,  before  they  beg  of  honest,  hard-working  people  for 
more."     Indeed,  that's  quite  an  argument.     Such  logic  is 
irresistible ;  and  therefore  we  cannot  expect  much  from  you. 
It   is  a  pity  the  government  could  not  exempt  such  people 
from  taxation  altogether.      We  hope,  for  the  sake  of  sail- 
ors, that  such  poverty-stricken    individuals   are    not  very 
numerous  in  the  United  States,  and  for  the  sake  of  others 
also.     Such  forlorn  creatures  are  more  to  be  pitied  than 
the  sailor ;    for  no  amount  of  money  can  keep  their  minds 
away  from  the  almshouse ;  but  a  very  small    sum  would 
place  the  sailor  in  the  land  of  Beulah. 

157.  Let  us  now  examine  the  matter  a  little,  and  see 
how  much  it  would  probably  take  to  carry  out  this  project, 
which  would  effect  such  mighty  changes  in  the  condition 
of   seamen  and  those  few  poor  tax-payers   we  have  men- 
tioned.    We  will  assume  that  help  should  only  be  afforded 
to  well-behaved,  native-born,  or  naturalized  able  seamen, 
who  could  produce  proof  that  they  had  served  at  least  nine 
months  out  of  a  year  on  board  of  some  American  vessel. 
We  will  grant  to  every  such  seaman  the  sum  of  ten  dollars 
per  month,  if  he  have  only  a  wife,  and  two  dollars  extra  for 


A   VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  135 

every  child  (not  exceeding  five)  under  ten  years  of  age ; 
and  what  will  the  result  be,  allowing  that  fifty  thousand 
heads  of  families  had  the  full  numher  to  support  we  have 
just  mentioned  ?  Twelve  millions  of  dollars.  Allow 
another  million  to  regulate  the  machinery  of  the  movement, 
and  we  have  thirteen  millions,  or  a  little  less  than  thirty 
cents  per  head  for  the  whole  population  of  the  United 
States. 

158.  Now,  we  would  ask,  is  that  a  sum  the  nation  would 
be  distressed  to  pay,  when  it  would  secure  so  many  ines- 
timable advantages  to  a  class  of  her  citizens  whose  whole 
life,  at  the  best,  is  one  of  toils,   dangers,  hardships,  and 
privations?     Is  it  too  much,  when  it  would  provide  the 
country  with  an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  which, 
if  need  be,  would  fight  her  enemies,  yard-arm  to  yard-arm, 
in  sight  of  their  own  shores,  and  relieve  our  thousands 
of  miles  of  seaboard  from  all  danger  of  an  attack?     The 
nations  of  Europe  think  they  must  support  almost  four 
times  that  number  in  sheer  idleness;    but  these  sailors, 
needing  only  partial  support,  would  be  all  useful  citizens, 
who  would  be  adding  continually  to  the  wealth  and  re- 
sources of  their  country,  as  much,  at  least,  as  any  other 
class  of  men.     Yes,  we  can  aiford  it,  and  we  must ;  or  the 
time  will  come  when  we  shall  have  to  pay  ten  times  as 
dear  to  make  the  change,  as  we  did  in  the  case  of  African 
slavery.     It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  no  such  sum 
as  twelve  millions  of  dollars  would  probably  be  required  for 
many  years  to  come,  if  ever.     The  nations  of  Europe  might 
all  eventually  be  led  to  adopt  the    same   plan ;  and  then 
freights  could  be  raised,  so  that  most  of  the  special  help 
from  governments  could  cease. 

159.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  seamen  would  go 
at  once  and  find  mates  among  the  abandoned  women  that 
now  frequent  all  of  our  seaport  towns.     That  many  of  them 


136  A    VOICE   FROM  THE   DEEP. 

would  get  wives  in  that  way,  there  can  be  no  doubt;  and, 
bad  as  their  predisposition  to  evil  habits  might  cause  them 
to  act,  they  would  certainly  be  better  off  married,  than 
leading  worse  lives  than  the  most  depraved  animals  possi- 
bly could.  It  is  said  that  in  mathematics  two  negatives 
make  an  affirmative ;  and  so  it  might  prove  in  many  cases 
of  this  kind.  Rising  hopes  and  true  grounds  for  affection 
would,  in  ma}*  cases,  be  the  leaven  that  would  cause  both 
hubsand  and  wife  to  unite  their  efforts  in  trying  to  reform 
each  other,  and  so  escape,  as  much  as  possible,  from  the 
consequences  of  their  former  vileness. 

160.  It   is   in   the   power  of   the   nation   to  do  all  'we 
have  proposed,  and  much  more  ;  and  who  can  say  it  is  not 
her  duty  ?     Nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  are  accountable 
to  that  Being  who  has  created  all  things  for  himself;  and 
if  they  know  how  to  do  good,  and  do  it  not,  surely  sin  lieth 
at  the  door,  and  he  will  not  hold  them  guiltless  any  more 
than  he  will  an  individual.     The  history  of  every  country 
in  the  world,  as  well  as  divine  revelation,  furnishes  abun- 
dant and  conclusive  evidence  of  that  fact. 

161.  We  have  remarked  that  the  proposed  change  would 
not  tax  the  country  very  severely  at  first ;  and  ten  years 
would  certainly  elapse  before  it  could  amount  to  any  thing 
like  twelve  millions  of  dollars.     But  the  good  work  would 
be  going  on,  and  the  very  means  used  to  reclaim  the  sailor 
would  be  adding  to  the  wealth  of  the  country ;  and  it  is 
highly  probable,  that,  within  a  few  years,  the  taxes  that 
might  be  raised  from  sailors'  property  would  go  far  towards 
paying  the  interest  of  the  sums  expended  in  his  behalf. 
The  money  would  all  remain  in  the  country,  and  eventually 
find  its  way  back  to  the  national  treasury,  as  surely  as  vapor, 
after  serving  a  thousand  useful  purposes,  eventually  finds 
its  way  back  again  to  the  waters  of  the  ocean.     Doubtless 
many  seamen  would  be  stimulated  to  save  a  little  from  their 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  137 

earnings  in  order  to  raise  the  wherewith  to  purchase  little 
cottages;  and  they  would  then  be  responsible  for  the  taxes  ; 
and  the  fifty  thousand  abandoned  females  who  are  now 
drawing  indirectly  millions  from  the  nation's  resources, 
would,  by  this  benevolent  arrangement,  be  transformed  into 
angels  of  light.  They  would  be  saved  from  spiritual,  moral, 
and  even  physical  death,  and  add  immensely  to  the  wealth 
and  prosperity  of  their  country. 

162.  We  have  said  that  such  a  measure  would  furnish  a 
hundred  thousand  men  for  the  navy  in  the  event  of  a  for- 
eign war;   but  only  fifty  thousand  have   entered   into  the 
calculations  for  pecuniary  assistance.     To  explain  this,  we 
shall  only  assume  that  one-half  of  our  sailors  would  or  could 
at  any  time  be  married  men.     There  would  be   thousands 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen   and  twenty-two,  and  some 
unmarried  above  that  age,  and  a  small  percentage  of  for- 
eigners.    They  would  all,  with  the  exception  of  the  foreign- 
ers, mate  excellent  men  for  the  navy,  however ;  for  the 
hopes  with  which  they  would  be  animated  could  not  fail  to 
inspire  them   with  loftier  sentiments  of  patriotism   than 
could  ever  be  expected  from  foreign  hirelings,  with  the  old 
means  used  to  develop  within  their  breasts  an  undying  love 
for  their  adopted  country ;  namely,  the  cat-o'-nine-tails  and 
a  plenty  of  gunpowder  and  whiskey. 

163.  We   have   seen  that  the  pecuniary   aid   which  we 
have  proposed  to  give  the  sailor  and  his  wife,  together  with 
what  he  could  earn,  would  not  amount  to  over  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  dollars  per  year.     That  is  a  much 
smaller  income  than  almost  any  other  class  of  people  get, 
and  by  no  means  as  much  as  he  deserves;  but  by  the 
most   rigid   economy,  and   perhaps   a  little   consideration 
from   custom-house   officials   and   benevolent  societies,   he 
might  possibly  get  along  with  it.     There  is  a  saying  that 
beggars  should  be  always  modest;   and  so,  in  fixing  the 


138  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

amount  of  the  proposed  pension,  no  margin  has  been  left 
for  any  thing  except  the  bare  necessaries  of  life. 

164.  The  main  difficulty  with  the  sailor  would  be  his 
rent ;  and  here  would  be  a  good  chance  for  some  benevo- 
lent society  to  erect  a  number  of  small  cottages  within  easy 
walking-distance  of  the  cities,  or  a  few  miles  out  on  the 
line  of  some  railway,  and  let  sailors  have  them  for  the 
interest  of  the  money  they  cost,  and  enough  to  pay  for 
taxes,  repairs,  and  insurance.  By  living  so  far  away,  many 
temptations  would  be  cut  off,  such  as  theatres,  grog-shops, 
and  the  like;  and  it  would  also  be  much  healthier  than 
living  in  cheap  tenements  in  the  cities.  Land  would  be 
much  cheaper;  and  perhaps  enough  might  be  reserved  to 
each  house  to  enable  every  occupant  to  have  a  small  gar- 
den, which  would  not  only  furnish  work  and  amusement 
for  children,  but  give  the  tenants  flowers  and  vegetables. 
It  would  be  easy  for  some  of  our  millionnaires  to  launch  out 
a  little  money  in  this  direction.  Vanderbilt's  property 
alone  would  furnish  cottages  for  all  the  sailors  in  the  United 
States. 

There  should  be  a  department  established  in  every 
custom-house  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  seamen.  Sailors' 
names  should  be  registered  the  same  as  vessels,  and  protec- 
tions griven  them,  which  they  could  use  in  foreign  ports. 
They  should  also  have  discharges  granted  them ;  and  per- 
haps it  would  be  proper  to  have  an  officer  appointed  to 
make  up  their  accounts,  and  pay  them  off  the  day  after  the 
arrival  of  the  vessel,  or  at  least  before  they  left  her.  The 
same  officer  should  receive  the  captain's  testimony,  under 
oath,  concerning  the  seaman's  behavior  and  abilities ;  and 
if  it  was  found  that  a  man  could  not  maintain  a  good  repu- 
tation, he  should  be  denied  all  pecuniary  assistance,  unless, 
perhaps,  he  would  go  in  the  navy.  The  testimony  of  one 
shipmaster  need  not  be  regarded  as  conclusive  evidence 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  139 

in  all  cases;  but  two  or  three  successive  discharges  should 
be  examined  and  compared  before  extreme  measures  were 
taken.  Men  thus  registered  and  assisted  should  be  held 
liable  to  be  drafted  into  the  navy  in  case  of  any  war;  and, 
in  the  event  of  death,  their  families  should  receive  a  suita- 
ble and  well-guarded  pension.  Their  wages  in  the  navy 
should  correspond  with  what  they  were  in  time  of  peace  in 
the  merchant-service.  On  account  of  some  of  the  provis- 
ions of  the  late  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  it  might  be  neces- 
sary to  include  a  part  of  our  fishermen  in  the  above  ar- 
rangement ;  but  it  need  not  apply  to  steamboats  and  barges 
navigating  rivers,  nor  to  canal-boats,  or  any  other  unrigged 
vessels.  It  might  also  be  proper  to  exclude  coasters,  if 
they  spent  over  two-thirds  of  their  time  for  three  consecu- 
tive years  in  those  vessels. 

165.  One  happy  consequence  of  the  new  arrangement 
would  be,  that  seamen  could  have  neighbors  and  relatives 
for  their  companions ;  whereas  now  they  go  on  board  of 
ships  entire  strangers  to  each  other.  In  a  ship's  forecastle 
half  a  dozen  different  nationalities  will  almost  invariably  be 
represented ;  and,  as  they  consequently  cannot  be  expected 
to  have  much  in  common,  it  is  surprising  that  they  get 
along  together  as  well  as  they  do.  Satan  loves  to  work  in 
darkness,  and  carefully  avoids  the  light,  lest  his  deeds 
should  be  exposed.  Men  now  get  thousands  of  miles  away 
from  home,  where  no  one  knows  them,  and  there  they  will 
give  way  to  lusts,  and  involve  themselves  in  schemes  of 
wickedness  which  they  would  hardly  think  of  if  they  knew 
they  were  under  the  eye  of  those  who  would  be  likely  to 
report  their  misdeeds  to  their  relatives  and  friends.  Few 
are  so  lost  to  virtue,  that  they  do  not  desire  to  be  thought 
well  of  in  the  place  where  they  spent  their  childhood,  espe- 
cially by  their  opposites  in  sex.  The  love  of  approbation 
and  the  magnetism  of  the  sexes  are  fur  mightier  than  the 


140  A  VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP. 

famous  lever  of  Archimedes ;  for  with  Christianity  at  the 
outer  end  of  the  beam,  and  the  Rock  which  abideth  forever 
for  a  fulcrum,  they  are  continually  turning  the  world  upside 
down  to  get  it  right  side  up.  Yes,  if  seamen  were  mar- 
ried, their  children  would  participate  in  the  hallowed  hopes 
and  aspirations  which  actuate  the  offspring  of  all  other 
classes  of  men;  and  who  can  doubt  but  what  the  best 
of  results  would  follow?  Who  can  doubt  but  what  the 
next  generation  of  seamen  would  compare  favorably  with 
tradesmen  on  the  land  in  moral  character,  intelligence,  and 
all  the  Christian  virtues? 

166.  Some  people  are  very  much  afraid  that  their  chil- 
dren will  choose  the  occupation  of  the  sailor,  and  conse- 
quently lead  dissipated  and  vagabond  lives,  which   would 
have  the  effect  "to  bring  down  their  gray  hairs  in  sorrow 
to  the   grave."     Let  all  such  put  their  shoulders  to  the 
wheel,  and  help  on  this  movement,  and  the  way  of  their  sons 
will  be  pretty  effectually  hedged  up.     The  sea  would  then 
be  the  last  place  for  vagabonds ;  for  they  would  soon  find 
themselves  more  out  of  place  on  board  of  our  ships  than 
good  men  seem  to  be  now.     They  would  also  find  it  very 
difficult  to  obtain  situations,  as  the  seamen's  children*  would 
contribute  so  largely  towards  supplying  all  deficiencies,  that, 
in  most  cases,  others  could  not  get  ships  without  the  assist- 
ance of  friends. 

167.  Sailors   would   then  be   intelligent,    and,   in   some 
cases,  learned,  as  well  as  well  behaved.     The  nation  could 
then  be  proud  of  the  representatives  she  would  send  forth 
to  foreign  climes;    and  the  hearts  of  missionaries  would 
rejoice  to  have  our  ships  visit  their  lonely  stations  in  the 
far-off  isles  of  the  Pacific ;  whereas  now  they  would  about 

*  There  are  many  now  inquiring,  IIow  shall  we  get  seamen  to  man  our  ships? 
Justice  answers,  From  the  children  of  seamen,  where  they  ought,  in  all  con- 
science, to  bo  obtained. 


A   VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP.  141 

as  soon  be  visited  by  the  plague  as  to  have  some  vessels 
heave  in  sight.  Excellent  officers  could  always  be  selected 
from  such  crews;  and  the  high  moral  tone  of  seamen  would 
soon  necessitate  a  corresponding  change  in  the  characters 
of  all  above  them.  It  would  never  do  to  bully,  nor  sys- 
tematicalty  abuse,  educated,  intelligent  men ;  and  ship-own- 
ers would  be  compelled  to  hire  proper  persons  for  officers. 
They  would  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  them  under  the 
new  dispensation,  which  will,  when  it  is  carried  out,  solve 
many  of  the  difficult  problems  which  have  hitherto  per- 
plexed the  merchant,  the  nation,  the  humane  ship-master, 
aad  the  philanthropic  Christian. 

168.  There  is  an  evil  existing  among  seamen,  to  which 
we  have  already  faintly  alluded,  that  would  nearly  disap- 
pear under  the  new  dispensation  5  and  that  is,  the  difficulty 
they  experience  in  trying  to  keep  their  clothing  in  order. 
Sailors  are  now  frequently  frozen  more  or  less  while  per- 
forming their  duties ;  but  a  vast  amount  of  their  suffering 
might,  in  a  great  measure,  be  prevented,  if  they  all  had  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  warm,  clean,  and  durable  clothing. 
Sometimes  there  will  not  be  more  than  three  or  four  pairs 
of  mittens  on  board  of  a  ship  of  twelve  hundred  tons,  which 
carries  a  crew  of  twenty  men ;  and  then,  again,  some  will 
be  short  of  oiled  clothing;  and  some  will  have  no  stockings 
nor  drawers  to  wear  in  the  cold,  piercing  weather.  They 
must  do  their  duty  just  the  same,  however;  and  some  of  our 
readers  who  may  be  cosily  seated  by  a  good  fire  of  anthra- 
cite coal,  where  they  can  hear  the  snow  and  sleet  pelting 
against  their  windows,  can  just  try  to  imagine  how  they 
should  like  to  spend  the  greater  part  of  a  tempestuous  win- 
ter's night  clinging  to  an  icy  sail  a  hundred  feet  up  in  the 
air,  and  exposed  to  all  the  furious,  chilling  blasts,  without 
stockings,  drawers,  or  mittens.  Hundreds  of  men  are  more 
or  less  frozen  in  that,  and  in  many  other  ways,  every  year, 


142         A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

and  some  of  them  to  such  an  extent,  that  their  limbs  have 
to  be  amputated.  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  come  on  to  our 
coast  in  the  winter,  or  go  to  any  other  in  the  same  latitude, 
without  a  good  stock  of  clean,  well-made,  and  warm  cloth- 
ing. Those  only  who  have  been  tossed  about  for  weeks  in 
a  deeply-laden,  ice-clogged  ship,  trying  to  make  head 
against  our  howling  nor'-westers  and  snowstorms,  can  have 
any  just  conception  of  how  much  sailors  have  to  suffer. 
Even  if  they  are  not  actually  frozen,  they  are  often  tor- 
tured by  rheumatism  throughout  the  remainder  of  their  mis- 
erable lives.  If  the  sailor  had  a  home,  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ters could  see  that  his  clothing  was  kept  in  order ;  and  they 
could  also  make  many  of  his  garments,  which  would  dimin- 
ish his  future  clothing-bills  fifty  per  cent  at  least,  and  give 
him  a  far  better  supply  than  he  now  receives. 

169.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  proposed  improvement 
would  have  the  effect  to  break  up  all  of  those  rascally  sail- 
ors' boarding-houses,  which  now  make  a  living  and  a  busi- 
ness by  buying  and  selling  the  sailor  every  time  he  arrives 
in  port.  A  few  of  the  best  ones  might  remain ;  and  it 
would  probably  be  necessary  to  keep  the  Sailors'  Homes  in 
operation ;  but,  after  the  machinery  of  the  new  movement 
was  once  got  in  good  running-order,  the  landlords  could 
no  more  sing,  — 


"You're  welcome,  Jack,  with  your  nine  months'  pay; 
For  I  think  you're  homeward  bound." 


Many  seamen  would  prefer  to  board  in  sailors'  families ; 
and  the  landlord,  and  his  coadjutor  the  runner  (alias  John 
Shark),  would  disappear  from  the  scene  forever.  Like 
the  giant  Pope  in  "  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  a  few 
of  them  might  remain  about  their  old  haunts,  and  grin  at 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  143 

sailors  as  they  passed  by ;  but  they  could  no  longer  set 
their  music  to,  — 


"Arise  up,  Jack !    Let  John  sit  down ; 
For  I  know  you're  outward  bound.' 


We  see,  therefore,  that  a  little  help  from  the  government 
would  eventually  have  the  effect  to  remove  all  the  sailors' 
enemies  and  miseries.  It  would  dispose  of  the  hypocritical 
boarding-master,  the  predaceous  runner,  the  rascally  tailor, 
the  tyrannical  shipmaster,  the  unprincipled  ship-owner,  the 
unscrupulous  foreign  consul,  and  the  abandoned  woman. 
It  would  not  only  prevent  all  of  these  persons  from  here- 
after injuring  seamen,  but  also  cause  many  of  them,  through 
necessity,  to  devote  their  attention  to  useful  employments, 
where  they  could  not  fail  to  receive  some  benefit  them- 
selves. Such  a  measure  would  also  be  favorable  to  the 
cause  of  temperance ;  for  a  sailor  is  undoubtedly  about 
the  worst  type  of  a  drunkard.  A  man  with  a  family  that 
loves  him  has  many  powerful  influences  to  hold  him  back 
from  this  degrading  vice ;  but  the  present  female  compan- 
ions of  the  sailor  are  as  fond  of  strong  drink  as  he  ;  and  so, 
when  they  are  together,  they  mutually  assist  each  other  to 
fathom  the  lowest  depths  of  iniquity.  It  is  safe  to  say,  that 
the  elevation  of  seamen  would  diminish  the  number  of 
drunkards  at  least  a  hundred  thousand  in  one  generation. 

170.  If  sailors  were  organized  together  as  a  class,  one  or 
two  newspapers  might  be  published  exclusively  for  their 
benefit.  It  would  be  well  to  have  such  papers  conducted 
under  the  auspices  of  the  government,  or  some  benevolent 
society,  in  order  to  secure  for  them  a  high  moral  tone  ;  but 
they  should  be  self-supporting.  If  some  of  their  spaces  were 
devoted  to  topics  which  would  particularly  interest  seamen 
and  their  families,  they  could  not  fail  to  be  profitable  and 


144  A   VOICE  FROM  THE    DEEP. 

instructive,  as  well  as  entertaining.  Such  papers  are  all  the 
more  necessary  for  seamen  on  account  of  the  low  tone  and 
immoral  tendencies  of  a  large  number  of  the  weeklies,  and 
even  dailies,  that  now  swarm  in  our  midst.  People  infer 
that  society  was  in  a  corrupt  state  in  ancient  times,  on 
account  of  various  developments  which  have  recently  come 
to  light  in  the  exhumation  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii ; 
but,  if  they  want  to  see  what  is  going  on  in  our  midst 
to-day,  they  have  only  to  look  into  the  windows  of  almost 
any  news  office,  and  behold  the  "  National  Police  Gazette," 
"Police  News,"  "Day's  Doings,"  and  a  dozen  other  kin- 
dred publications,  from  which,  if  any  of  their  copies  live  in 
the  future,  our  descendants  will  have  just  cause  to  conclude 
that  they  have  indeed  sprung  from  a  race  which  must  have 

"  Crept  through  scoundrels  ever  since  the  flood." 

The  pictures  in  those  papers  verge  as  near  obscenity  as 
they  can,  and  avoid  the  provisions  of  the  law ;  and  the  read- 
ing-matter treats  vice  with  levity,  and  rather  makes  it 
attractive  than  forbidding,  especially  to  those  whose  char- 
acters and  tastes  are  yet  unformed.  There  are  thousands 
of  people  who  take  such  papers,  and  they  are  increasing 
like  the  unclean  frogs  of  Egypt ;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
no  good  people  can  be  interested  in  them,  except  to  have 
them  suppressed. 

171.  Perhaps  some  one  will  now  say,  Why  make  such  an 
ado  about  sailors,  when  our  commerce  is  so  much  depressed? 
when  it  bids  fair  to  become  almost  extinct  ?  If  the  people 
of  the  United  States  have  really  made  up  their  minds  to 
do  without  shipping,  and  let  other  nations  monopolize  the 
commerce  of  the  world,  it  may  not  benefit  us  much :  but 
still  it  would  set  a  good  example  to  the  nations  of  the 
earth ;  and  we  could  not  choose  a  cheaper  time  than  the  pres- 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  145 

ent,  as  ships  and  seamen  are  now  scarce.  But  we  cannot 
yet  make  up  our  minds  that  a  country  witli  so  many  thou- 
sand miles  of  seaboard,  and  such  vast  resources,  intends  to 
do  without  shipping.  Ships  will  eventually  be  obtained 
in  some  way,  either  by  buying  them  in  foreign  markets,  or 
by  building.  It  is  our  traditional  policy  that  they  should  be 
built  at  home ;  and  many  powerful  reasons  can  be  urged  in 
favor  of  the  practice.  In  the  first  place,  the  country  needs 
builders.  If  we  buy  our  ships  abroad,  and  a  war  should 
suddenly  arise,  we  should  have  no  ship-builders  to  con- 
struct a  navy.  It  was  the  ship-builders  and  sailors  that 
choked  the  South  in  the  secession  war  until  armies  could 
be  equipped  for  their  overthrow.  That  is  how  the  ship- 
builders and  sailors  contributed  towards  crushing  the  Re- 
bellion ;  and  can  the  country  aiford  to  do  without  them  ? 
Is  it  showing  gratitude  to  those  men  to  neglect  them,  and 
force  their  children  into  other  fields  of  labor?  The  soldier- 
mechanic  is  now  living  with  his  happy  family,  earning 
from  three  to  five  dollars  a  day ;  but  iron-clad  Jack  is 
wandering  about  in  foreign  climes,  ivithout  any  friends, 
•  •ml  (jetting  from  twelve  to  fourteen  dollars  per  month  for 
making  passages  from  one  port  to  another.  [See  Sects. 
32  and  33.]  And  is  there  no  national  honor  to  be  pre- 
served in  this  matter?  Shall  we,  like  Spain  and  other 
second-class  powers,  buy  a  few  vessels  abroad,  and  man 
them  with  foreigners  ?  Is  it  our  desire  that  the  American 
flag  shall  wave  over  vessels  built  on  the  same  stocks  as 
were  the  "  Alabama  "  and  "  Shenandoah  "  ?  Do  we  wish 
to  make  it  appear  that  our  people  are  at  their  wits'-end,  and 
making  temporary  expedients  to  fight  off  bankruptcy. 

172.  But  how  can  we  help  it?  is  demanded.     Again  we 

answer,  By  an  appeal  to  the  national    treasury.     We  will 

suppose  the  country  needs   a  million  tons  of  shipping  to 

carry  on  our  foreign  trade  in  the  next  five  years.     We  can 

13 


146  A   VOICE  PROM  THE  DEEP. 

furnish  it  somewhat  in  this  way :  let  all  duties  on  building- 
materials  be  abolished,  to  begin  with;  and  then  let  an  accu- 
rate estimate  be  made  from  year  to  year  of  the  difference 
between  the  cost  of  building  ships  abroad  and  in  the  United 
States ;  and  then  let  the  government  grant  a  subsidy  to  e:n-h 
merchant  or  builder  registering  a  new  vessel  equal  to  this 
difference,  for  a  limited  number  of  tons  for  each  merchant 
or  builder.  If  a  million  of  tons  were  required  in  the  n- xt 
five  years,  and  the  difference  amounted  to  twenty  per  cent 
even,  and  the  price  of  building  to  a  hundred  dollars  a  ton, 
the  subsidy  would  amount  to  only  twenty  millions,  or  four 
millions  per  year.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  subsidy 
would  be  much  less  than  the  aforesaid  sum ;  for  when  ship- 
building was  once  got  well  under  way,  and  the  price  of 
labor  reduced  to  correspond  with  the  price  of  gold,  every 
year  would  witness  a  less  difference  in  the*  percentage  we 
have  named ;  and,  in  a  few  years,  a  highly  useful  and  hon- 
orable branch  of  industry  would  be  set  fairly  on  its  legs 
again,  and  assist  powerfully  to  develop  the  resources  of  the 
nation.  Four  millions  a  year  for  ship-building,  and  proba- 
bly four  or  five  more  for  sailors,  seems  to  make  an  enor- 
mous sum  for  a  nation  burdened  with  a  huge  debt  to  raise. 
And  so  it  is ;  but  supposing,  that,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
the  war  had  continued  a  year  longer,  would  it  not  have 
cost  money  enough  to  have  built  a  merchant  navy  for 
almost  the  whole  world  ?  And  should  we  not  have  been 
compelled  to  afford  it  ?  The  money  expended  in  war,  too, 
would  have  been  irrecoverably  lost;  but,  by  assisting  mer- 
chants and  ship-builders  temporarily,  nothing  will  eventu- 
ally be  lost,  but  a  great  deal  gained.  It  is  not  proposed  to 
give  ship  owners  and  builders  a  better  chance  to  get  a 
living  than  other  people  have,  but  merely  to  put  them  on 
equal  terms  with  their  European  competitors,  the  same 
as  we  do  manufacturers,  for  our  otvn  yood. 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  147 

173.  But  some  may  say,  that,  if  the  United  States  should 
adopt  measures  calculated  to  enfranchise  and  elevate  her 
seamen,  other  nations  would  soon  do  the  same  thing;  and 
then  of  what  special  benefit  would  be  our  army  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  valiant  seamen?  Would  not  a  similar 
movement  make  other  nations  equally  strong,  and  leave  our 
own  country  in  the  same  relative  condition  as  before  ? 
Admitting  that  it  did,'  and  admitting,  also,  that  all  would 
make  the  change,  should  not  the  prospect  of  such  a  con- 
summation of  things  be  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  we 
can  possibly  use  in  favor  of  giving  the  sailor  the  proposed 
pecuniary  aid  ?  Freights  could  then  be  raised  to  a  figure 
which  would  enable  merchants  to  pay  sailors  enough  to 
support  families  the  world  over;  and  then,  perhaps,  all 
special  help  from  governments  could  cease.  They  cannot 
rise  now,  because  many  countries  will  still  continue  to  treat 
their  seamen  according  to  the  civilization  of  the  "dark 
ages  ; "  and  those  nations  that  are  willing  to  do  better, 
of  course,  cannot  compete  with  them.  If  all  nations  would 
emancipate  their  seamen,  the  event  would  be  such  a  stride 
towards  a  consummation  of  the  reign  of  practical  Chris- 
tianity among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  that  our  hundred 
thousand  seamen  would  have  pleasanter  employment  than 
handling  eleven-inch  guns,  or  knocking  their  brothers  over 
with  the  broadsword.  War  is  but  a  relic  of  barbarism,  and 
ought  to  die  and  be  buried  in  this  generation. 

Such  a  measure  would  have  a  powerful  tendency  to  pro- 
mote kindly  feelings  among  the  seamen  of  different  coun- 
tries, and  make  them  emulous  to  excel  each  other  in 
knowledge,  intelligence,  arid  every  Christian  virtue.  It 
would  diminish  their  temptations  everywhere,  and  operate 
powerfully  to  prevent  smuggling,  casting  vessels  away  wil- 
fully to  get  the  insurance,  embezzlement,  and  a  hundred 
other  things  that  ignorant  and  depraved  men  can  frequently 
be  made  use  of  to  perform. 


148  A  VOICE  FROM  THE    DEEP. 

174.  It  is  not  proposed  to  throw  down  all  the  bars  and 
fences,  and  let   foreigners    and   bad   characters   come    in 
by  the  wholesale,  and  reap  benefits  which  should  only  be 
secured  to  the  industrious  and  deserving.     Let  the  relations 
of  all  sailors  to  the  merchant  still  continue  as  they  are,  and 
let  the  government  help  those  only  who  seem  inclined  to 
behave  well,  and  help  themselves.      Foreigners  should  be 
required  to  go  through  the  regular  course,  and  get  out 
naturalization  papers,  and  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  before 
they  should  be  allowed  help ;  and  no  sailor  should  be  ad- 
mitted unless  he  could  produce  proof  from  some  respectable 
source  that  his  behavior  had  been  good  for   at   least  the 
last  three  years.     The  utmost  pains  should  be  taken  to 
exclude  all  loafers  and  criminals,  and  every  person  not  nat- 
urally disposed  to  try  to  do  well ;   for  in  this  way  alone 
could  the  good  results  hoped  for  ever  be  realized  by  the 
sailor  and  the  country. 

175.  It  would  not  do,  however,  to  exclude  all  who  had 
led  vicious  lives,  nor  those  who  might  still  be  subjected  to 
some  bad  habits,  such  as  chewing  and  smoking  tobacco, 
especially  at  first.     It  might  be  better  for  the  next  genera- 
tion of  sailors  if  all  such  were  excluded ;  but  we  must  have 
an  eye  of  benevolence  to  those  now  living,  and  try  to  save 
some  of  them.     If  a  sailor  should  choose  to  marry  one 
of  his  old  companions  in  iniquity,  no  objection  should  be 
made  for  the  same  reason ;  but  the  parties  should  be  made 
distinctly  to  understand  that  any  infraction  of  the  estab- 
lished rules  of  morality  would  forfeit  all  claims  to  pecuniary 
assistance.     It  has  not  hitherto  been  proposed  for  the  gov- 
ernment to  do  any  thing  for  unmarried  seamen ;  but  it 
would  probably   be   best   to   register   all   that   were    well 
behaved,  and  give  them  a  child's  allowance  for  their  future 
encouragement.     The  sons  of  sailors  might  be  registered  as 
soon  as  they  should  arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty,  or  as  soon 
as  they  could  pass  for  able  seamen. 


A   VOICE   PROM   THE  DEEP.  149 

176.  The  seamen's  department  in  the  custom-house  could 
easily  be  organized  so  as  to  meet  all  the  needed  requisi- 
tions of  the  sailor ;  but  it  should  be  presided  over  by  the 
collector  with  a  watchful  eye,  to  see  that  no  injustice  was 
done,  or  dishonest  practices  countenanced.     It  is   not  in- 
tended, however,  by  the  foregoing  remarks,  to  map  out  the 
exact  course  which  government  ought  to  pursue  in  dealing 
with  sailors,  but  simply  to  show  that  no   difficulties   exist 
but  what  can  easily  be  surmounted.     It  would  be  much 
easier,  every  way,  for  our  government  to  render  a  little 
assistance  to  sailors,  ivhich,  after  all,  is  but  a  simple  act 
of  justice,   than  for  the  nations   of  Europe   to   support 
standing  armies  of  four  or  Jive  hundred  thousand  men 
each. 

177.  Who,  now,  that  is  possessed  of  even  an  ordinary 
degree  of  intelligence,  can  fail  to  see  that  such  an  arrange- 
ment would  be  fraught  with  the  greatest  of  blessings  to 
seamen,  to  society,  and  to  the  nation?      Who  can  say  that 
it  is  not  just  for  sailors  to  live  by  commerce  the  same  as 
the  artisan  lives  by  his  trade,  and  the  minister  by  the 
gospel?     It  was  commanded  the  Jews,  that  they  should 
not  muzzle  the  ox  while  treading  out  the  grain ;  and  is  not 
a  sailor  as  good  as  an  ox  ?     An  increase  of  five  per  cent  on 
the  duties  levied  on  the  imports  of  the  single  port  of  New 
York  would  set  all  the   machinery  of  this   movement  in 
active  operation,  or  a  very  small  export  duty  would  do  the 
same  thing;  and  who  could  raise  any  objection  to  either? 
Surely  no  one  with  a  soul  as  big  as  an  animalcule,  no  man 
with  the  common  instincts  of  humanity  unperverted  within 
him,  could  stoop  so  low  as  to  be  willing  and  greedy  to  enjoy 
blessings  at  the  expense  of  others,  if  he  could  possibly  avoid 
it.     The   sailor  surely  deserves   the   commonest  blessings 
of  life  for  doing  our  work,  —  work  that  hardly  one  middle- 
aged  man  in  a,  hundred  could  be  tempted  to  undertake.     It 

13* 


150 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 


may  be  that  society  has  never  acted  maliciously  in  this 
matter;  for  people  have  been  thoughtless,  and  perhaps 
ignorant  of  the  sailor's  true  condition;  but,  now  we  have 
light,  we  must  not  allow  sin  to  lay  at  the  door,  lest  she 
raise  a  cloud,  and  fill  our  houses  with  darkness. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

LEGISLATION  NOT  DEFECTIVE. CUSTOM-HOUSE  MATTERS. 

SAILOKS    NEED    SYMPATHY. 

178.  IT  may  be  thought   by  some   people,   that  many 
of  the  tumults  and  outrages  on  board  of  our  ships  are  due 
to  defective  legislation,  and  that  the  surest  way  to  rescue 
the  sailor  from  at  least  a  part  of  his  troubles  would  be  to 
change  some  of  the  existing  laws,  and   substitute  better 
ones  in  their  places.     We  answer  that  but  very  little  good 
could  be  effected  in  that  way.     Most  of  the  present  laws 
are  good  enough,  as  far  as  they  go;  but  the  existing  phys- 
ical and  moral  condition  of  seamen  renders  the  working  of 
them    ineffectual.     Remove    the  disabilities  of  the  sailor, 
and  put  him  in  harmony  with  nature,  and  there  would  be 
but  very  little  difficulty  about  the  laws. 

179.  There  is  a  mistaken  notion   among  some   people, 
that  the  laws  are  now  all  on  the  side  of  the  ship-master, 
and  only  operate  to  support   tyranny   and   injustice ;   but 
such  is  by  no  means  the  fact.     It  is  absolutely  necessary, 
for  the  welfare  of  all  people  concerned  in  sea-voyages,  that 
the   strictest   discipline    should   be    faithfully  enforced   on 
board  of  all  sea-going  vessels.     The  ship-master's  position 
is  one  of  great  responsibility.     On   board  of  his  ship  is  a 
little  community,  of  which  he  is  necessarily  the  judge,  law- 
giver, and  commander;   and  he  cannot  efficiently  fulfil  all 
of  his  varied  duties  and  trusts,  without  possessing  almost 
unlimited  control  of  all  the  means  at  his  disposal,  and  abso- 

151 


152  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

lute  power  to  enforce  order,  and  obedience  to  all  his  neces- 
sary commands.  Instead,  therefore,  of  weakening  his 
authority,  and  placing  obstacles  in  his  way,  hi.s  position 
should  be  strengthened  by  more  stringent  Jaws;  and  it  is 
very  possible  that  a  few  might  be  enacted,  and  some  other 
regulations  made,  which  would  assist  him  materially:  but 
it  is  not  our  purpose  to  notice  them  in  tliis  connection. 
There  might,  also,  be  a  few  laws  enacted  for  the  special 
benefit  of  sailors,  that  could  not  be  liable  to  many  objec- 
tions ;  but,  after  all,  the  extra  compensatton  we  have  pro- 
posed would  cure  most  of  their  evils.  It  can  never  be  ad- 
visable to  encourage  litigation  among  seamen ;  not  that 
they  should  be  denied  the  protection  which  good  laws  are 
supposed  to  afford;  but  ignorant  people  just  beginning  to 
emerge  from  barbarism  are  apt  to  be  excesssively  fond  of 
going  to  law  when  the  penalties  are  light.  The  blacks  in 
the  English  West-India  Islands,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Sierra  Leone,  are  examples  of  this  truth. 

180.  If  difficulties  should  arise  hereafter,  however,  about 
certain  abuses  which  have  been  named  in  the  course  of  this 
work,  —  such  as  keeping  the  sailor  at  work,  without  occasion, 
for  sixteen  hours  in  a  day,  restricting  him  unnecessarily  in 
the  use  of  fresh  water,  &c.,  —  a  little  judicious  legislation 
would  seem  to  be  indicated ;  and  it  might,  also,  be  proper  to 
make  regulations  which  would  assist  officers  who  have  not 
an  awe-inspiring  presence,  nor  a  natural  aptitude  for  gov- 
erning, to  deal  with  insolent  and  refractory  seamen  in  cases 
where  they  now  experience  great  difficulty.  If  a  salt-water 
impostor  feigns  sickness  when  there  is  a  disagreeable  job  on 
hand,  the  master  should  have  discretionary  power  to  stop 
his  wages.  If  a  man  chooses  to  sleep  on  his  lookout,  he 
should  forfeit  five  dollars  for  every  offence.  For  insolent 
language,  a  seaman  should  be  confined,  and  fed  on  prison- 
fare,  or  for  any  other  flagrant  breach  of  discipline;  but 


A   VOICE   FROM  THE   DEEP.  153 

it  would  be  high  time  to  consider  these  minor  matters 
after  seamen,  as  a  class,  were  brought  into  a  position  where 
they  could  respect  themselves,  and,  in  the  main,  be  influ- 
enced by  higher  motives  than  the  fear  of  bodily  pains  and 
privations. 

181.  We  have  mentioned  before,  that  it  might  be  proper 
to  give  the  sailor  a  little  latitude  in  the  custom-house  :  but 
perhaps  that  may  be  a  mistaken  notion ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  many  reasons  could  be  urged  against  its  expediency. 
Many  would  say  that  it  might  be  just  to  give  sailors  a  few 
liberties  in  that  way  ;  but  they  would  certainly  abuse  them, 
and  bring  discredit  on  the  whole  revenue  system.  We 
think,  however,  that  regulations  might  be  made,  which 
would  allow  sailors  to  bring  home  a  few  things  for  their 
own  families  free  of  duty,  and  operate,  at  the  same  time,  to 
remove  many  of  the  obnoxious  features  of  the  present  sys- 
tem. The  temptation  for  sailors  to  smuggle  a  little,  with 
things  arranged  as  they  now  are,  is  powerful ;  and  it  is 
safe  to  say,  that  there  is  not  one  seafaring  man  out  of 
twenty,  who  would  not  try  to  carry  ashore  secretly  little 
presents  of  the  value  of  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars.  Sailors 
are  strongly  tempted  to  practise  deception  in  these  matters 
by  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  custom-house  officers.  The 
majority  of  these  men  are,  perhaps,  worthy  enough,  and, 
doubtless,  they  may  mean  to  do  right;  but,  not  knowing 
nor  realizing  scarcely  any  thing  about  the  affairs  of  sea- 
men, they  unintentionally  do  them  a  vast  amount  of  injury. 
Their  instructions,  in  many  cases,  lead  them  to  believe 
that  they  are  sent  on  board  of  vessels  to  look  after  a  set 
of  " rascally  scamps;"  and  so  they  think  they  must  re- 
gard all  sailors  as  thieves  and  smugglers,  else  the  powers 
above  them  will  distrust  their  vigilance  and  fidelity.  Being 
allowed  a  percentage  of  all  they  can  seize,  many  of  them 
will  unscrupulously  take  every  thing  they  can  lay  their 


154  A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

hands  on ;  and,  instead  of  showing  the  least  sympathy  for 
men  who  have  passed  through  hardships  and  privations 
enough  to  entitle  them  to  a  welcome  reception  on  shore, 
they  will  dive  unceremoniously  to  the  bottom  of  every  chest 
and  trunk  they  can  find,  even  if  some  of  them  belong  to 
the  captain's  wife.  Such  proceedings  are  very  damaging 
to  the  moral  characters  of  seamen.  There  is  no  man  on 
shore  who  would  feel  pleasant  if  he  was  periodically  sub- 
jected to  a  visitation  from  a  squad  of  detectives,  who  would 
come  into  his  house,  and  ransack  every  thing  from  garret  to 
cellar,  not  even  sparing  his  wife's  clothing.  There  is  many 
an  honest  seafaring  man,  who  has  felt  a  sense  of  burning 
shame  come  over  him  as  he  has  come  into  port  out  of  a  furi- 
ous storm,  and  had  a  lot  of  furnace-bleached,  piano-fingered 
men,  who  were  never  a  hundred  miles  on  salt  water  in 
their  lives,  and  who  had  just  come  out  from  behind  a  warm 
stove  perhaps,  come  unceremoniously  on  board,  and  go  to 
searching  every  nook  and  corner,  asking,  at  the  same  time, 
all  sorts  of  impertinent  questions,  and  rendering  themselves 
as  disagreeable  as  possible.  Sailors  generally  spend  a  little 
money  while  away,  and,  in  doing  so,  frequently  remember 
a  wife,  a  sister,  or  a  mother;  and,  when  they  get  to  their 
own  country,  they  look  on  the  custom-house  officials  as  a 
parcel  of  heartless  robbers ;  and  they  almost  invariably 
try  to  conceal  their  little  treasures  from  them,  and  gener- 
ally succeed.  It  is  true,  that  such  little  things  might  be 
put  on  the  manifest,  and  the  duties  paid;  but  that  seems  to 
be  a  troublesoine  operation,  and  they  hardly  ever  attempt 
it;  neither  do  they  think  it  is  quite  right.  They  have 
also  a  vague  notion  that  it  is  not  quite  right  to  carry  their 
things  on  shore  secretly;  but  finally  they  make  a  virtue 
of  necessity,  and  stifle  the  voice  of  conscience  for  the  time, 
persuading  themselves  that  it  is  right  to  do  a  little  wrong 
that  good  may  come,  or,  rather,  to  avoid  what  they  consider 
to  be  a  far  greater  wrong. 


A   VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  155 

182.  The  collectors  think  they  must  approve  of  and  en- 
courage all  such  little  seizures  in  order  to  stimulate  their 
employes  to  be  vigilant;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  such  is  sound 
policy.     A  well-paid  custom-house  officer  should  be  willing 
to  do  his  duty  faithfully,  without  having  a  share  in  the  little 
hard-earned  cash  of  sailors.     If  seamen  are  to  be  punished 
for  bringing  home  a  few  dollars'  worth  of  foreign  produc- 
tions, let  the  majesty  of  law  be  invoked,  and  the  United 
States  have   the   benefit   of   all    such   seizures    and    fines. 
There  is  now  seldom  any  thing  done  to   sailors,  except  to 
take  away  their  goods  ;  for  collectors  know  well  enough  how 
they  feel  about  the  matter,  and  they  do  not  wish  to  pro- 
ceed to  extremities  with  a  class  of  men  that  are  hardly  held 
to  be  morally  responsible  to  society  for  many  of  their  acts. 
The  effect  of  such  leniency  is,  however,  pernicious;  for,  if 
men  are  to  be  punished  at  all  for  smuggling,  they  should 
be  punished  severely,  and  given  to  understand  that  the  laws 
cannot  be  transgressed  with  impunity.     Now  they  regard 
the  officers  as  but  little  better  than  robbers ;  and  a  seizure 
only  makes  them  more  careful  the  next  time.      Officers, 
also,  that  have  long  been  accustomed  to  this  way  of  mak- 
ing money,  will,  at  length,  condescend  to  receive  bribes;  and 
so  prevalent  is  this  custom  in  England,  that  a  few  shillings 
and  a  glass  of  beer  will  pass  almost  any  seaman's  effects 
out  of  the  dock-gates. 

183.  We  think  that  things  would  go   on   better  with 
regulations  something  like  the  following  :  Let  every  ship- 
master, on  his  arrival  in  port,  be  required  to  have  a  separate 
manifest  of  all  the  little  articles  belonging  to  himself  and 
crew,  that  should  exceed  five  dollars  in  value ;  and  let  the 
government  charge  duties  on  the  excess  above  a  hundred 
dollars  on  a  year's  voyage  for  a  sailor,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
for  a  mate,  and  two  hundred  for  a  captain,  and  for  other 
voyages  in  proportion,   according  to  the  length  of  time. 


156  A  VOICE   PROM   THE   DEEP. 

The  crew  should  be  required  to  stay  on  board  and  do  duty 
until  their  accounts  were  made  out;  when  the  proper  officer 
should  come  on  board  from  the  custom-house  to  pay  them 
off.  Such  an  officer  should  receive  the  ship's  articles, 
and  all  the  seamen's  receipts,  when  the  vessel  enters,  and 
have  the  accounts  made  out  immediately,  and  then,  accom- 
panied by  an  appraiser,  he  should  board  the  said  vessel,  and 
settle  up  every  thing  connected  with  the  crew  and  officers. 
If  there  should  be  an  excess  above  the  specified  sum  on 
dutiable  articles,  it  could  then  and  there  be  taken  from  the 
sailors'  wages ;  and  they  could  then  go  to  their  homes,  or 
to  any  other  place,  without  the  necessity  of  running  in 
debt  to  tailors,  or  going  to  seamen's  boarding-houses,  or 
any  thing  of  the  sort.  Sailors,  when  they  are  paid  off, 
should  be  required  to  swear  to  the  truth  of  the  crew's  mani- 
fest; and,  if  any  are  ever  found  guilty  of  perjury,  they 
should  be  dealt  with  as  the  law  directs.  They  should  be 
required  to  swear  that  their  little  articles  are  not  for  mer- 
chandise, but  for  their  own  families,  or  as  presents  to  some 
of  their  special  friends. 

184.  Who  can   doubt   but  what   some   such   regulation 
would  do  away  with  a  vast  amount  of  lying,  stealing,  and 
perjury?      Ignorant,    morally   weak,   and   irreligious   men 
should  be  dealt  with  discreetly;   and  temptations  should, 
as  far  as  possible,  be  removed  from  them :  but  they  should 
never  be  taught  that  they  were  irresponsible  beings,  and 
not  amenable  to  just  and  wholesome  laws.     It  cannot  work 
well  to  deal  with  seafaring  men  on  the  presumption  that 
they  are  irresponsible  smugglers,  thievi*?,  and  liars.     They 
should   be   regarded  as  good  honest   men,   and   punished 
severely  if  they  do  not  behave  in  a  becoming  manner. 

185.  It  may  seem  to  some,  that  such  exceptions  in  favor 
of  the  sailor  would  amount  to  a  large  sum  in  the  aggre- 
gate; but  that  is  not  probable.     Sailors  do  not  generally 


A  VOICE  PROM  THE  DEEP.  157 

get  over  twenty-five  or  thirty  dollars  to  spend  in  foreign 
ports ;  and  half  of  that  goes  for  clothing  for  themselves, 
sight-seeing,  &c.  The  little  articles  which  they  now  get 
for  presents  they  smuggle  safely  ashore  in  nineteen  cases 
out  of  twenty;  and  we  very  much  doubt  if  government 
would  lose  much  more  by  the  new  arrangement  than  by  the 
old.  The  duties  lost  in  this  way  could  not  amount  to  more 
than  a  million  in  any  case ;  and  the  benefit  would  all  go  to 
a  class  of  men  that  we  think  we  have  fully  proved  it  is 
necessary  to  assist;  and,  for  reasons  already  given,  it  would 
be  better  to  do  it  in  this  way  than  in  any  other.  We 
should  not  think  it  proper  to  preach  to  a  wayward  and 
gluttonous  child,  that  it  must  not  eat  candy  or  plum-cake, 
and  then  keep  those  articles  on  a  stand  alongside  'of  its 
bed  :  neither  can  it  be  proper  to  thrust  temptations  in  the 
way  of  ignorant  and  vicious  seamen,  and  then  punish  them 
for  their  indulgences,  or,  what  is  worse,  treat  them  the  same 
as  we  would  an  unintelligent  horse  or  mule  working  in 
a  wheat-field. 

186.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  a  few  ship-masters  and 
officers  smuggle  cigars,  coffee,  silks,  and  a  great  many 
other  valuable  articles,  in  trading  for  themselves  ;  and  some- 
times they  do  it  for  their  owners:  but  we  cannot  help 
thinking  that  the  surest  way  to  prevent  such  things  is  to 
help  seamen  in  the  manner  proposed,  and  adopt  the  fore- 
going regulations.  We  have  already  seen  that  smuggling 
and  perjured  ship-masters  originally  sprung  from  vicious 
and  depraved  seamen  ;  and  if  we  use  effective  means  to 
improve  the  moral  standard  of  seamen's  characters,  and  try 
to  redeem  their  profession  from  dishonor,  we  shall  at  the 
same  time,  and  by  the  same  means,  remove  the  disposition 
of  sailors  to  smuggle,  and  various  other  crimes  and  irregu- 
larities will  soon  disappear  from  among  them,  like  a  crop 
of  boils  before  an  alterative  medicine. 


158  A  VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP. 

187.  Sailors  should,  therefore,   not   only  be   the  .wards 
of  the  nation,  but  have  tlie  kind  regards  and  sympathies 
of  all  classes  in  society.     The  peculiar  position  which  they 
occupy,  and  many  of  the  circumstances  attending  it,  make 
them  worthy  of  more  attention  than  is  usually  bestowed 
upon  our  fellow-mortals.     They  are  strangers  and  wander- 
ers to  and  fro  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.     They  are  ex- 
posed to  peculiar  perils  from  shipwrecks,  falling  overboard, 
falling  from  aloft,  collisions,  and  many  other  dangers  which 
are  but  sparingly  dealt  out  to  the  rest  of  mankind.     Even 
when  the  sailor  is  married,  and  has  a  family  of  children, 
what  a  feeling  of  loneliness  must  come  over  him  at  times, 
when  he  is  away  at  sea  without  them !     How  lonely  and 

'desolate  his  poor  wife  must  feel  as  she  hears  the  wind  rush- 
ing by  her  dwelling,  and  sighing  among  the  trees,  as  if  it 
were  the  requiem  of  the  absent  one  ever  present  in  the  poor 
woman's  thoughts !  How  she  clasps  her  babes  to  her 
bosom,  and  wildly  beseeches  God  to  have  compassion  on 
her  poor  husband ! 

188.  Some  people  profess  to  think  that  it  is  crnel  for 
sailors  to  marrj7,  and  expose  poor  helpless  women  to  such 
experiences  as  this;  but,  if  such  are  their  actual  sentiments, 
they  do  not  judge  wisely;  neither  can  they  have  a  proper 
conception  of  what  Christians  ought   to  live  for  in  this 
world.     Such   experiences  soften  the  heart,  and   tend   to 
give  us  faith   in   God  and  in   each  other.     It  may  seem 
shocking  to  those  trifling  mortals  who  do  not  like  to  think 
seriously  of  any  thing  except  their  own  fancied  grievances; 
but  ease,  pleasure,  and  thoughtlessness  are  not  the  agents 
used   by  the   infinitely  wise    God  to  purify  his   children. 
The  storms  of  adversity,  the  furnace  of  affliction,  and  the 
waves  of  sorrow,  are  oftener  the  refining  influences  brought 
to  bear,  from  time  to  time,  upon  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Adam  to  try  them.     The  dross  is  consumed;  but  the 


A  VOICE  FROM   THE   DEEP-  159 

gold  is  made  bright  and  pure  for  the  building  of  that  tem- 
ple of  which  Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  corner-stone.  It 
seems  unnatural  for  husbands  and  wives,  and  parents  and 
children,  to  be  separated  from  each  other  for  weeks  and 
months  and  years,  when,  perhaps,  they  are  thinking  of 
each  other  every  moment;  but,  if  they  have  God's  Spirit 
with  them,  that  undying  love  which  burns  so  brightly  upon 
the  altar  of  their  hearts  will  keep  them  true  to  each  other, 
and  pure  and  good  and  virtuous.  If  might  not  be  so  if 
they  lived  single.  Love  would  then  have  no  fuel  with 
which  to  kindle  his  sacred  fires;  and  darkness  —  deep, 
midnight  darkness  —  would  enshroud  the  human  soul,  and 
the  demon  of  lust  and  intemperance  would  hold  carnival 
there,  until  the  lost  and  wretched  victims  were  hopelessly 
wrecked  on  the  dark,  rock-bound  coast  of  despair. 

189.  Many  will  say  that  such   a  picture  is  not  true  to 
life.     A  great  many  people  belonging  to  our  whaling-ports, 
and  some  of  them  in  good  circumstances,  have  been  mar- 
ried ;   and,  if  reports  were  true,  the  fires  and  lights  of  love 
never  prevented  many  of  the  parties  from  acting  improperly. 
Sometimes  it  would  be  the  woman  who  was  in  the  trans- 
gression, and  sometimes  the   man,  but   still  oftener  both. 
That  may  all  be  true ;   but  still  it  proves  nothing  against 
what  we  have  advanced,  if  we  can  find  even  one  instance 
where  the  parties  remained  true  to  each  other;  and  we 
know  there  have  been  man}'  hundreds.     There  are  many 
thoughtless,  trifling  persons  and  monsters  of  both  sexes  all 
around  us ;  and  the  only  reason  why  they  do  not  behave  as 
bad   as   the  aforesaid  whalemen   and   their  wives  is,   that 
thoy  have  learned  to  be  more  hypocritical,  and  their  facili- 
ties are  not  so  good. 

190.  It  is  certain  that  many  couples  have  been  married, 
and  remained  true  to  each  other  through  years  of  absence ; 
and  that  fact  alone  is  sufficient  to  disprove  every  attempt 


160  A   VOICK   FROM  THE   DEEP. 

to  show  that  a  temporary  separation  favors  false-hearted- 
ness.  Neither  is  it  expected  that  sailors,  as  a  class,  or 
their  wives,  would  be  models  of  virtue,  for  at  least  some 
time  to  come.  Men  and  women  that  have  been  educated 
in  vice  and  iniquity  cannot  be  expected  to  remove  from 
them,  in  a  moment,  all  the  effects  of  their  early  training. 
Missionaries  would  at  first  have  to  deal  with  "  the  halt,  the 
maimed,  the  lame,  and  the  blind ; "  but  it  would  be  a  glori- 
ous field  of  labor.  This  generation — coming,  as  it  would, 
out  of  almost  Egyptian  darkness  —  might  prove  somewhat 
refractory,  and  thousands  might  die  in  the  wilderness ;  but 
the  most  of  their  children  could  be  measurably  fitted  to  enter 
the  promised  land. 

191.  After  these  explanations,  if  we  should  hear  of  here 
and  there  a  sailor  that  turned  out  to  be  a  Judas,  and  a  few 
women  that  should  choose  to  take  pattern  after  Jezebel 
and  Athaliah,  we  need  not  be  at  all  surprised.     We  should 
never  abandon  a  good  work  because  it  is  beset  by  a  few 
difficulties,    but   go   to   work   manfully,   and   try  to   clear 
them    away.     If  Washington   had   given   up   all   for  lost 
when  he  was   chased   across   the   Delaware,   our   country 
could  not  now  be  the  first  to  act  on  this  project  of  emanci- 
pating seamen ;  and,  if  Jesus  had  abandoned  hope  when  all 
his  disciples  forsook  him  and  fled,  none  of  the  emancipated 
sailors  could  ever  sing  with  .the  immortal  Wesley,  — 

"  Oh  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 
My  great  Redeemer's  praise ! " 

192.  We    have    hitherto   said  nothing    about    including 
officers  in  the  number  of  those  who  should  receive  assist- 
ance and  extra  compensation  from  the  government ;  but  it 
would  certainly  be  best,  and  even  necessary,  to  help  all  in 
the  manner  proposed,  excepting  shipmasters.     The  pay  of 
officers  is  no  greater,  in  proportion,  than  the  pay  of  sailors, 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.         161 

as  we  can  readily  demonstrate.  The  chief  mate  of  a  vessel 
of  three  or  four  hundred  tons,  who  has  certainly  as  great 
cares  and  responsibilities  as  almost  any  overseer,  head 
bookkeeper,  or  head  clerk  on  the  land,  if  not  much  greater, 
does  not  get  but  forty-five  dollars  a  month  and  his  board, 
averaging,  probably,  less  than  ten  months  annually.  He 
cannot  now,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  earn 
more  than  four  hundred  and  fifty  or  four  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-five dollars  in  a  year;  and  he  is  also  subject  to  most 
of  the  drawbacks  which  befall  the  sailor,  —  from  shipwrecks, 
perils,  pestilence,  absence  from  home,  and  a  hundred  other 
evils.  But  no  overseer  in  a  factory,  nor  any  head  book- 
keeper or  clerk,  would  think  of  receiving  less  for  his  ser- 
vices than  from  twelve  hundred  to  two  thousand  dollars  iu 
a  year ;  which  is  far  more  than  three-fourths  of  our  sea- 
captains  get  in  a  straightforward  and  honest  manner.  The 
mate  of  an  ordinary-sized  vessel,  at  the  present  time,  does 
not  get  more  than  the  farm-laborer ;  and,  whenever  we  find 
one  of  them  married,  his  family  is  always  living  in  two  or 
three  rooms,  in  the  most  humble  manner;  and  his  wife  and 
children  have  to  assist  him  in  some  way  to  get  a  living. 
This  is  gross  injustice  ;  for  a  mate's  position  requires  a  man 
of  good  abilities,  and  much  general  information  and  intelli- 
gence ;  and  he  ought  to  be  put  on  equal  terms  in  society, 
and  with  respect  to  pay,  with  overseers,  bookkeepers,  and 
head  clerks.  Even  if  we  should  give  a  chief  mate  the 
same  assistance  as  we  have  proposed  to  give  the  sailor,  he 
could  not  then  earn  any  more  than  an  unskilful  mechanic 
who  does  not  get  work  over  two-thirds  of  the  time,  and 
who,  it  may  be,  can  neither  read  nor  write. 

193.  Common  modesty,  as  well  as  many  other  motives, 
should  prevent  us  from  begging  for  the  shipmaster;  but  it 
can  do  no  harm  to  show  that  he  is  not  paid  like  other  men 
for  the  services  which  he  renders  to  society.  A  man  in 

14* 


162  A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

charge  of  a  vessel  worth  fifty  thousand  dollars,  carrying 
a  cargo  valued  at,  perhaps,  one  or  two  hundred  thousand, 
and  several  passengers,  ought,  at  least,  to  receive  as  much 
compensation  as  a  head  clerk  in  a  wholesale  store,  or  the 
principal  teacher  in  one  of  our  common  city  schools ;  but 
such  is  not  generally  the  case.  Shipmasters'  wages  are  not 
fixed;  but,  as  a  general  thing,  they  cannot  earn  over 
a  thousand  dollars  a  year  in  clear  money.  A  captain's 
wages  will  enable  him  to  support  a  family,  however ;  and 
so,  perhaps,  no  great  harm  will  be  done  if  he  is  used  to 
exemplify  that  passage  of  Scripture  where  it  is  said  that 
the  "first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  first;"  and,  again, 
where  it  says  that  "he  which  would  be  great  should  be 
the  servant  of  all."  As  the  captain  is  the  owners'  recog- 
nized agent,  it  would  probably  be  best  to  leave  every  thing 
concerning  him  as  it  is  now,  and  perhaps,  in  time,  things 
would  all  come  out  right. 

194.  In  comparing  wages  and  expenses  thus  far,  it  has 
always  been  assumed  that  the  parties  were,  or  should  be, 
married  men ;  for  it  would  make  quite  a  material  difference 
if  such  was  not  the  case.  If  we  assume  that  the  sailor  has 
no  business  with  a  family,  and  allow  the  landsman  one, 
the  present  wages  given  each  are  just  enough,  and,  proba- 
bly, they  are  divided  about  as  equally  as  possible.  A  single 
sailor  with  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  might  easily  lay 
up  as  much  money  as  the  married  mechanic  with  three 
times  that  sum ;  and  a  single  captain  with  eight  hundred 
dollars  could  do  as  well  as  a  married  school-teacher  with 
eighteen  hundred  or  two  thousand;  but  the  most  stu/iiil 
blockhead  could  easily  see  that  such  a  comparison  would 
not  be  just.  Money  considered  by  itself  is  of  scarcely  any 
value;  but,  when  society  allows  it  to  represent  some  of  the 
greatest  blessings  of  this  life,  it  becomes  an  object  worth 
seeking  after.  If  a  common  sailor  should  be  as  saving  and 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP.  163 

prudent  as  a  common  mechanic,  he  would,  probably,  have  as 
much  property  at  the  age  of  sixty,  providing  that  he  always 
lived  single,  and  the  mechanic,  in  the  mean  time,  brought 
up  a  large  family;  but  no  right-minded  person  can,  for  an 
instant,  deny  that  the  mechanic  at  that  age,  with  his  lov- 
ing wife  for  a  companion,  and  his  large  family  of  thriving 
children  scattered  over  the  land,  would  feel  richer  without 
any  property  than  the  single  sailor  with  all  the  fabled 
wealth  of  Croesus. 

195.  There  are  a  multitude  of  evils  to  which  seamen  are 
subjected,  that  will  not  be  mentioned  in  this  book.  It  was 
never  the  design  of  it  to  go  much  into  details,  but  to  pre- 
sent to  the  public,  in  as  comprehensive  a  manner  as  possi- 
ble, some  of  the  main  features  of  a  sailor's  life,  so  that  all 
can  have  some  idea  of  abuses,  which,  perhaps,  many  people 
hardly  ever  heard  of  before.  There  are  those  who  seem  to 
think,  that,  because  African  slavery  is  now  dead,  we  have, 
therefore,  no  more  to  do  in  behalf  of  freedom,  but  we  are 
now  truly  a  great,  free,  and  happy  people.  Poor  souls ! 
how  it  must  grieve  them  to  learn  that  they  have  yet  many 
mighty  mountains  to  climb  before  they  can  see  the  length 
and  breadth  of  this  entire  land  illuminated  by  the  sun  of 
liberty  !  When  we  all  get  up  to  that  heavenly  height,  we 
can  view  our  beloved  country  with  as  much  satisfaction  as 
Moses  felt  when  he  beheld  the  land  of  promise  from 
the  top  of  Pisgah ;  but,  until  then,  our  work  will  not 
be  done.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  never  gain  such  a 
prospect  :n  our  earthly  lives  ;  but  our  companion,  sweet- 
tempered  and  lovely  Faith,  whispers  to  us,  that  in  some  of 
the  ages  to  come,  measured  by  the  mighty  cycles  of  eter- 
nity, we  shall  look  out  of  the  windows  of  heaven,  and 
behold  the  sun  of  liberty  elevated  above  all  the  earth. 
May  the  thought  strengthen  and  encourage  us  to  go  and 
work  to-day  in  our  Master's  vineyard ! 


164  A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP. 

196.  If  this  matter  is  examined  carefully,  and  it  is 
found  that  110  available  means  exist  to  disinthnill  the  sailor 
in  this  generation,  then,  of  course,  we  must  let  the  matter 
rest,  even  though  it  cause  miseries  unspeakable,  and  affect 
the  eternal  interests  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  if  not  mil- 
lions, of  human  beings.  We  think  it  will  be  found,  upon 
examination,  however,  that  something  can  be  done  to  stay 
this  mighty  tide  of  destruction,  and  done  immediately. 
We  have  seen,  that,  as  far  as  the  nation  is  concerned,  it  is 
merely  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents;  and  has  the  nation 
become  so  poor,  that  she  cannot  afford  to  treat  the  sailor  as 
well  as  she  treats  the  savages  that  roam  over  our  Western 
wilds  and  prairies  ?  If  the  Indians  could  be  prevailed  upon 
to  "settle  down,"  and  cultivate  their  "hunting-grounds,'' 
would  it  not  be  better  for  the  government  to  pay  them  the 
cost  of  the  present  military  establishment  kept  up  on  their 
account  for  doing  so,  than  to  maintain  it  year  after  year 
with  no  good  results,  except  to  keep  our  frontiersmen  from 
destruction  ?  If  the  Indians  would  cultivate  the  soil,  they 
would  contribute  millions  to  the  aggregate  wealth  of  the 
country,  the  same  as  the  sailor  is  doing  now ;  and  the  sol- 
diers could  go  to  their  homes,  where  they,  also,  could  engage 
in  useful  occupations  for  the  benefit  of  society :  but  those 
lawless  gentlemen  of  the  scalping  fraternity  have  no  mind 
to  do  any  such  thing ;  and  so  the  government  is  obliged  to 
have  recourse  to  all  kinds  of  expedients  to  get  along  with 
them.  The  Indian  has  a  wife  and  children  the  same  as 
any  other  man,  and  as  many  hands  to  work  with ;  but, 
because  he  will  not,  the  government  must  spend  millions  in 
fruitless  wars,  or  else  maintain  him  in  horse-stealing,  but 
most  commonly  both.  Why,  then,  not  treat  the  sailor 
half  as  well  as  the  Indian?  He  does  not  ask  to  be  sup- 
ported in  laziness.  He  does  not  compel  the  government  to 
make  war  upon  him,  and  spend  millions  every  year.  Oh,  no ! 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  165 

On  the  contrary,  sailors  have  always  been  among  the  most 
efficient  defenders  of  their  country,  even  when  detailed  to 
serve  on  shore.  If  Commodore  Barney  had  had  a  force 
equal  to  two-thirds  of  the  British  forces  opposed  to  him, 
Ross  and  Cockburn's  gang  would  hardly  have  entered 
Washington,  except  as  prisoners.  The  sailor  does  not 
expect  to  stay  with  his  family  all  the  time,  like  shore  peo- 
ple, and  be  in  a  position  where  he  can  direct  all  of  his  own 
affairs.  He  does  not  expect  to  be  taken  care  of  by  his 
loving  wife  and  sympathizing  children  when  he  is  sick,  nor 
to  supply  their  little  wants  by  his  kind  offices  when  they 
are  in  a  like  condition.  He  expects  to  pay  for  what  he 
receives  by  toils  and  labors  and  privations  in  foreign 
climes  ;  and  it  is  a  poor  ivorld  indeed,  that  cannot  give 
him  what  has  seldom  been  denied  to  the  meanest  slave 
since  the  time  of  Adam,  —  namely,  a  wife,  and  means 
to  support  a  family. 

197.  This  is  a  measure  in  which  all  men  who  love  their 
country  are  interested.  God  forbid  that  it  should  ever  be 
a  "  plank  "  in  the  platform  of  any  political  party  !  Demo- 
crats, Republicans,  Labor-Reformers,  Woman-Suffragists, 
and,  we  trust,  all  other  political  organizations,  should  unite 
their  efforts,  and  vie  with  each  other  in  their  endeavors  to  do 
justice  to  this  long-neglected  and  very  deserving  class  of 
men.  It  would  be  a  pity  to  hear  a  dissenting  voice  in  the 
council-chambers  of  the  nation,  should  the  sailor  stand  upon 
the  threshold,  and  ask  the  people's  representatives  to  give 
him  the  means  to  support,  in  the  humblest  manner,  a  poor 
outcast  woman  who  wanted  to  be  his  wife,  and  who  could 
hardly  find  means  to  get  an  honest  living  without  his  assist- 
ance. Surely  any  voice  raised  in  opposition  to  such  a  plea 
would  sound  worse  than  the  hissing  of  a  serpent,  or  the  mid- 
night bowlings  of  a  jackal. 

198.  Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  may  now  wonder  of 


166  A  VOICE  FliOM  TI1E  DEEP. 

what  political  stripe  the  author  of  this  book  professes  to  be; 
and  many  may  be  desirous  to  know  whether  lie  would  be  as 
willing  to  help  the  prohibition  cause,  the  labor-reform 
cause,  or  the  woman-suffrage  cause,  as  he  is  to  have  the 
people  belonging  to  those  political  organizations  help  the 
seaman's  cause.  There  can  be  no  harm  done  by  enlight- 
ening such  people ;  but  we  regret  to  say  it  must  be  done 
by  referring  them  back  to  statements  which  have  been 
made  in  the  progress  of  this  work  (76-78).  The  author 
of  this  book  is,  and  has  been  for  nearly  twenty  years,  a 
sailor,  and,  consequently,  knows  but  very  little  about  the 
maxims,  mottoes,  and  wire-pulling  arrangements,  of  any 
political  party.  He  desires  the  good  opinion  and  kind  offices 
of  all,  however,  and  feels  willing  to  appeal  and  submit  the 
seamen's  cause  to  the  unbiassed  judgment  of  the  people 
and  the  freemen  of  all  the  political  parties  in  the  United 
States.  He  wants  no  wire-pulling,  nor  any  other  kind  of 
political  jugglery,  used  to  get  this  measure  through  ;  for,  if 
it  cannot  stand  in  this  country  on  its  own  merits,  may 
Providence  take  care  of  it,  and  let  our  people  and  legislators 
turn  their  attention  to  the  other  questions  which  agitate 
the  public  mind ! 

199.  What  a  noble  way  it  would  be  to  show  our  grati- 
tude to  God,  in  the  presence  of  an  admiring  world,  for  all 
the  national  blessings  we  have  received,  to  emancipate, 
enfranchise,  and  place  as  near  as  possible  in  harmony  with 
nature,  a  hundred  thousand  men  and  women,  that  might 
be  numbered,  if  they  were  dealt  with  justly  and  charitably, 
among  our  most  worthy  citizens !     Doubtless,  such  a  course 
would  be  more  grateful  to  Heaven's  majesty  than  a  thou- 
sand windy  speeches  about  our  greatness,  or  the  sacrifice 
of  a  million  of  geese  and  turkeys  on  a  Thanksgiving. 

200.  We  hear  a  great  deal  about  hard  times  now;  but 
people  do  not  seem  to  act  as  though  they  were  very  hard. 


A  VOICE  FEOM  THE  DEEP. 


167 


Thousands  of  families  will  have  things  now,  that  people  in 
the  same  circumstances  thought  altogether  out  of  their 
reach  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  Our  national  debt  would 
not  hinder  us  from  buying  Cuba,  if  it  was  offered  for  a  rea- 
sonable price ;  and  there  is  certainly  as  much  propriety  in 
providing  a  way  for  our  seamen  to  have  their  clothing  taken 
care  of  as  there  is  in  buying  the  north  pole.  Eour  or  five 
millions  annually  to  assist  our  seamen,  and  as  much  more 
for  a  few  years  to  re-establish  our  commerce,  could  be  as 
well  afforded  as  thousands  of  other  things  not  half  so  im- 
portant to  the  welfare,  honor,  and  prosperity  of  the  people 
of  this  great  Commonwealth. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONCLUDING    REMARKS.  —  CERTAIN    VICTORY. THANKS- 

n  GIVING. 

201.  BUT  is  it  necessary  to  make  it  apparent  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the   United  States,  that  an  enterprise  in 
which  justice  and  mercy  are  deeply  involved  pays,  before 
any  one  can  be  found  willing  to  engage  in  it  ?     Are  gold 
and  silver  of  more  value  to  mankind  than  those  divine 
attributes  which  enstamp  God's  image  upon  the  human  soul, 
and  make  man  upright,  unlike  the  beasts  that  perish?     No : 
it  cannot  be.     The  freemen  of  this  great  country  would 
scorn  to  have  their  names  associated  with  dishonor,  injus- 
tice, and  ingratitude.     Prove  to  them  that  a  cause  is  right, 
after  their  attention  is  gained,  and  it  must  be  that  they 
would  soon  make  it  their  own.     Any  other  course  would 
lead  to  infamy ;   and  that  is  a  goal  where  but  few  would 
care  to  have  their  names  registered. 

202.  It  is  true  that  Mammon  presents  many  attractions 
to  our  selfish  imaginations,  and  oftentimes  succeeds  in  en- 
veloping the  heart  in  a  gold  and  silver  case,  where   its 
beats  of  love  and  sympathy  can  be  but  faintly  heard ;  but, 
even  then,  he  can  seldom  prevail  upon   his   simple  and 
foolish  captive  to  withhold  all  tribute  from  Honor,  especially 
if  she  is  found  in  company  with  the  great.     Many  people 
who  are  not  accounted  the  slaves  of  avarice  find  it  difficult 
to  help  forward  any  good  wotk,  because  they  have  so  much 
charity  to  dispense  at  home.     They  have  a  thousand  ways 

168 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  169 

for  all  the  money  to  go  which  they  can  get;  and,  although 
they  would  always  be  thought  to  be  living  on  terms  of  the 
strictest  intimacy  with  Honor,  it  is  to  be  observed  they  often 
make  her  pecuniary  dues  extremely  small.  The  fact  is, 
the  poor  creatures  are  miserably  deceived  and  defrauded  by 
fashion.  That  vain  and  gay  deceiver  proffers  her  services 
as  a  broker  to  give  grace  in  Honor's  sight;  but,  instead 
of  fulfilling  their  brilliant  expectations,  the  blind  and  fickle 
goddess  only  conducts  them  to  the  "  springs,"  or  to  some 
watering-place,  where  they  oftentimes  find  nothing  but 
"vanity  and  vexation."  Poor  deluded  mortals!  They 
cannot  be  made  to  believe  that  the  road  to  heaven  lies 
over  the  fields  of  self-denial,  and  through  the  valley  of  hu- 
miliation. 

203.  That  a  project  which  proposes  to  abstract  from  the 
national  treasury  every  year  should  be  sharply  criticised,  we 
are  fully  prepared  to  expect.     People  who  have  to  work 
hard  for  a  living,  and  know  the  value  of  that  which  money 
represents,  do  not  like  to  expend  their  surplus  earnings  for 
"  that  which  is  not  bread."     They  do  not  like  to  become 
the  dupes  of  some  vile  speculator,  who  would  predict  that 
the  world  was  coming  to  an  end  if  all  his  idle  vagaries  were 
not  at  once  received  as  the  true  oracles  of  wisdom.     Good 
people   wish   to   examine    minutely   the   merits   of   every 
cause  they  are  called  upon  to  support,  so  as  to  be  assured 
that  their  labors  will  not  be  in  vain ;  and  surely  we  can- 
not blame  them,    for  their  prudence  is  commendable'  and 
reasonable. 

204.  We  cannot,  it  is  true,  see  every  thing  ourselves. 
We  are  obliged  to  let  our  friends,  and  those  that  have  our 
confidence,  think  for  us  in  some  degree ;  for  a  dozen  life- 
times would  not  suffice  to  make  any  man  master  of  all  the 
useful  knowledge  there  is  in  the  world.      But  still  none  can 
escape  from  their  responsibilities,  and  the  penalties  due  to 

15 


170         A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

transgression,  on  the  plea  of  ignorance.  We  go  to  sea  in 
ships  which  are  driven  by  fierce  winds,  and  carried  about 
by  tides  and  currents;  and  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
use  our  own  careful  judgments,  aided  by  the  experiences 
and  directions  of  others,  if  we  would  escape  from  ship- 
wreck. We  must  measure  every  new  proposition  by  the 
long-tried,  accurate,  and  approved  rules  of  right,  to  satisfy 
ourselves  whether  it  is  in  any  way  worthy  of  our  attention 
and  regard.  The  seaman's  cause,  which  we  have  intro- 
duced in  this  work,  will  bear  investigation.  It  commends 
itself  not  only  to  our  minds  and  hearts,  but  to  the  strictest 
tests  that  were  ever  applied  to  any  proposition  which 
had  for  its  object  the  welfare  of  any  part  of  the  human 
race.  All  are  cordially  invited  to  examine  it  carefully ; 
and,  if  it  is  found  that  it  cannot  stand  on  its  own  merits, 
let  it  fall  to  the  ground,  never  to  rise  again  to  deceive 
mankind. 

205.  Lest  any  should  think  that  many  of  the  statements 
in  this  book  are  incorrect,  or  the  offspring  of  an  impulsive 
spirit  and  a  heated  imagination,  we  cordially  invite  all 
people  interested  in  maritime  affairs  to  give  in  their  testi- 
mony, and  let  the  public  see  whether  it  compares  with 
what  has  been  written  on  the  preceding  pages  or  not.  Let 
some  one  be  deputed  to  go  in  disguise,  and  make  a  voyage 
before  the  mast  in  one  of  our  East-Indiamen  or  a  whaler; 
and,  if  he  is  a  middle-aged  man,  we  will  guarantee  he  will 
not  be  easily  prevailed  upon  to  repeat  his  experiment. 
Select  a  man  from  the  navy  like  the  late  Admiral  Foote, 
and  see  what  he  thinks  of  it.  Ask  any  intelligent  and 
unprejudiced  ship-master.  Send  a  man  in  disguise  to 
spend  a  month  in  some  of  our  seamen's  boarding-houses, 
and  let  him  make  his  report.  All  the  subject  requires  is 
to  have  the  light  shine  upon  it,  so  that  all  can  see ;  and  we 
think  that  many  will  soon  be  found  hastening  to  do  all  in 


A   VOICE   FROM   THE   DEEP.  171 

their  power  to  remove  the  foulest  blot  from  the  national 
escutcheon. 

206.  We  say  that  we  cannot  get  along  without  a  navy ; 
for  one  is  needed  for  the  defence  of  our  country.     Millions 
are  expended  every  year  to  maintain  it,  and  no  one  com- 
plains ;  for  all  want  to  live  secure.     We  say,  too,  that  we 
must  have  Commerce,   or  relapse  into  barbarism ;   for  all 
agree  that  she  is  the  handmaid  of  civilization.     We  can  see 
our  self-interest  in  both  of  these  matters ;  and  so  all  obsta- 
cles must  be  removed,  and  commerce  cherished,  and  a  navy 
maintained.     Any  one  who  should  refuse  to  pay  taxes  to 
support    these    all-important    benefactors   of   his   country 
would  be  looked  upon  as  a  traitor  or  a  madman,  and  treated 
accordingly;  but  when  we  say  that  seamen  should  be  cher- 
ished, and  raised  to  a  social  position  which   would  corre- 
spond, in  some  respects,  to  that  which  is  occupied  by  the 
poorest  day-laborer,  shall  any  lawyer  presume  that  that 
alters  the  question,  and  interpose  an  "if"  to  prove  that  one 
axe  is  not  as  good  as  another?     Surely,  if  the  nation  can- 
not take  care  of  her  seamen,  and  give  them  the  means  to 
do  right,  the  sooner  the  navy  is  abolished,  and  commerce 
destroyed,  the  better. 

207.  Neither  will  it  do  to  say  that  we  must  respect  the 
wisdom  of  our  ancestors,  and  give  countenance  to  abuses, 
which,  perhaps,  have  existed  ever  since  the  days  of  Noah 
and  the  Argonauts.     We  might  as  well  think  of  reviving 
the  Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy,  or  of  re-establishing 

.  stage-coaches  and  the  whipping-post.  The  current  in  the 
middle  of  the  stream  of  life  flows  forever  onward  towards 
the  clear  and  sparkling  waters  of  immortality;  and,  if  we 
do  not  keep  in  it,  we  shall  inevitably  be  brushed  aside  into 
some  of  the  dark  and  sluggish  bayous  of  oblivion,  where 
the  stagnant  and  putrid  waters  will  have  a  worse  effect 
upon  us  than  the  lotos-eaters'  fruit  had  upon  them;  and 


172  A  VOICE   FROM  THE  DEEP. 

we  shall  never  see  that  goodly  land  and  Lebanon,  so  often 
promised  to  the  faithful. 

208.  If  any  prominent  man   belonging   to  our  country 
should  be  travelling  abroad  with  his  family,  and  it  should 
forcibly  be  taken  from  him,  would  not  the  whole  country 
be  up  in  arms  about  it  ?     Would  not  the  nation  rise  in  her 
majesty,  and  send  forth  her  fleets  and  armies  to  vindicate 
the  claims  of  justice,  at  an  expense  of  hundreds  of  millions 
of  money,  and  thousands  of  lives,  if  need  be?     Would  not 
the  Trojan  war  be  renewed  on  a  scale  that  would  satisfy 
even  Menelaus  himself,  if  he  could  be  alive  to  see  it?     We 
think  so.     Then  why  is  it  that  the  nation  should  refuse  to 
rescue  from  certain  destruction  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
its  own  citizens,  when  it  can  be  done  at  comparatively  :i  N 
small  expense,  and  without  any  sacrifice  of  life  or  honor1.' 
The  salvation  of  the  meanest  sailor  or  street-walker  would 
give   more   true   glory  to   the   nation  than  the  rescue  of  a 
thousand  faithless  Helens  ;  and,  if  no  Homer  could  be  found 
on  eartli  to  do  honor  to  such  a  theme,  we  may  be  assuivd 
it  would  be  the  subject  of  one  of  the  sweetest  songs  in 
heaven. 

209.  It  is,  indeed,  a  surprising  fact,  that  men  are  more 
ready  to  pour  out  their  blood  and  treasure  to  support  a 
desolating  war  about  a  small  matter  than  they  are  to  make 
very  small  sacrifices  for  a  much  larger  one  which  can  be 
accomplished  by  peaceful  means.     How  much  better  the 
people  of  France  would  feel  now,  if  they  had  only  to  pay 
out  a  small  sum  of  money  to  sustain  such  a  measure  as  this 
book  advocates,  instead  of  giving  all  the  first-fruits  of  their 
labors  into  the  hands  of  their  worst  enemies  !     Half  a  dozen 
years  ago,  her  statesmen  would  probably  have  declared  that 
the  French  people  were  unable  to  do  any  thing  for  the 
sailor;  but  now  they  are  obliged  to  afford  five  times  the 
sum  that  would  be  necessary  for  that  purpose,  as  a  result 


A  VOICE  FEOM  THE  DEEP.  173 

of  being  beaten  in  war.  The  nation  could  glory  in  spend- 
ing money  for  the  noble  purpose  of  rescuing  a  portion  of 
her  own  children  from  lives  of  ignominy  and  sin ;  but  there 
is  but  very  little  true  glory  to  be  derived  from  even  a 
successful  war,  involving,  as  it  always  does,  a  wholesale 
destruction  of  human  life. 

210.  The  history  of  the  world  proves  that  the  majority 
of  statesmen   have   never   realized   this   important   truth. 
Goodness  has  always  hedged  herself  about  with  difficulties, 
so  as  to  hinder  evil-disposed  persons  from  following  her  just 
for  the  loaves  and  the  fishes.     She  has  always  been  acces- 
sible, but  only  to  the  firm  and  resolute,  who  would  not  be 
kept  back  by  her   barriers.      Because    that   many  people 
cannot  see  through  the  thorny  hedge  which  encircles  her 
beautiful  garden,  where  the  fruits  of  wisdom  grow,  they 
therefore  affirm  that  she  does  not  live  there  ;  and  so  they 
search  for  her  in  all  kinds  of  dark  and  crooked  ways,  where 
she  is  never  to  be  found.     Statesmen  have,  therefore,  gen- 
erally shaped  their  courses  according  to  the  wisdom  of  this 
world,  which  is  counterfeit;   and  so,  in  the  end,  they  have 
seldom  succeeded  in  establishing  the  fabric  of  state  on  firm 
and  lasting  foundations. 

211.  There  are  better  days  coming,  however;  and  we 
may  almost  presume  that  the  reign  of  ignorance  and  decep- 
tion is  drawing  near  its  end.     Even  the  men  who  prefer  to 
shape  their  courses  according  to  the  dictates  of  worldly 
wisdom  are  beginning  to  see  that  their  interests  cannot  be 
best  served  by  too  exclusive   a  selfishness.     An   ignorant 
man  is  now  almost  universally  considered  to  be  a  dunger- 

,  ous  man ;  for  human  observation  has  not  failed  to  reveal  to 
every  intelligent  person  the  great  fact,  that  education  is 
almost  wholly  responsible  for  the  social,  moral,  and  spiritual 
status  of  mankind.  People  that  make  no  efforts  to  relieve 
themselves  from  the  thraldom  of  ignorance  are  anxious  to 


174  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

have  their  children  educated,  and,  if  possible,  associated 
with  those  who  are  accounted  good.  May  we  not  hope, 
from  the  prevalence  of  this  feeling,  that  many  whose  mo- 
tives to  action  are  far  from  spiritual  can  see  that  their  own 
and  their  country's  interests  will  be  best  served  by  the 
speedy  emancipation  of  seamen  ? 

212.  But,  after  all,  we  must  rest  our  main  hopes  on  the 
efforts  which  shall  be  put  forth  by  the  Church  of  Christ. 
She  must  lead  the  van  in  every  good  work ;  and,  assisted  by 
the  strong  arm  of  her  Beloved,  she  will  eventually  triumph 
over  every  obstacle.     If  the  God  of  Revelation  and  the  God 
of  Nature  says  that  "  it  is  Hot  good  for  man  to  be  alone," 
she  must  see  that  he  is  provided  with  a  helpmeet  for  him, 
and   means  to   support  her.     She   must   go  and  find   the 
sailor,  who  is  like  a  lost  sheep  in  the  desert,  exposed  to  be 
the  prey  of  every  wolf  and  wild  beast,  and  bring  him  to  her 
Master's  fold,  where  the  angels  can  rejoice  over  him.     She 
is  equal  to  the  work ;  and  it  will  sooner  or  later  be  accom- 
plished. 

213.  It  is  true  that  some  of  her  members  are  even  now 
such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  cannot  yet  abide  strong 
meat.     It  is  true  that  Christ  has  yet  many  things  to  say  to 
his  Church,  that  she  cannot  well  bear  at  the  present  time ; 
but  nevertheless  taken  collectively,  she  is  the  mother  of 
hope,  and  the  habitation  of  wisdom.     Christ  is  hers ;  and 
there  k  no  other  name  given  under  heaven  that  can  afford 
sinful  men  any  promise  of  salvation. 

214.  Let  all  people,  therefore,  that  have  the   least    re- 
gard for  the  teachings  of  our   Lord   and   Saviour   Jesus 
Christ,  unite  in  destroying  this  stronghold  of  the  Father 
of  Lies,   which  has  been   so  long  planted  firmly  in   our 
midst.     Let  them  drive  out  the  residue  of  the  Canaanites 
that  dwell  in  the  laud,  "  even  though  they  be  strong,  and 
have  chariots  of  iron."     Let  us  but  supply  the  "  sinews  of 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  175 

war,"  and  there  will  not  be  wanting  soldiers  who  will  make 
the  "Prince  of  Darkness"  tremble  in  his  Capitol,  and  release 
vast  numbers  of  the  miserable  captives  that  he  yet  holds  in 
bondage  on  this  side  of  the  grave.  We  think  the  Christian 
oracle  says  that  Love  must  go  into  this  fight  with  golden 
weapons,  and  then  she  surely  shall  prevail. 

214.  The  very  act  of  enfranchising  seamen  would   do 
more  to  win  them  to  Christ,   and  destroy  their  infidelity? 
than  a  hundred  thousand  sermons.     They  would  then  see 
Christianity  exemplified  in  a  tangible  shape,  and  could  not 
help  but   admire  her  loveliness.     Their  hearts  would  be 
softened,  and  their  minds  enlightened,  all  ready  to  receive 
the  seeds  of  truth  in  an  effective  manner.     There  is  also 
every  reason   to  believe  that  the  gracious  Author  of  love 
and  goodness  would  give  special  blessings  to  his  children 
and  to  the  nation,  for  their  benevolent  efforts  to  establish  his 
cause.     He  has  said  that  the  "  abundance  of  the  sea  shall 
be  converted ;  "  and  why  can  it  not  be  done  in  this  genera- 
tion ?     Whenever   it   is   done,   it   will  be   sure    to    bring 
a  blessing  with  it ;  and  may  the  children  of  light  and  im- 
mortality see  that  it  is  done  immediately ! 

215.  What  a  pleasant  thing  it  is  to  have  the  love  of  God 
in  our  hearts,  to  have  Christ  formed  within  us  the  hope 
of  glory!     "Tongue  can  never  express"  what  the  children 
of  light  sometimes  enjoy  when  they  fully  realize  that  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  lives  within  them,  and  that  he  is  indeed 
causing  "all  things  to  work  together  for  good"  to  those 
who  love  him  in  deed  and   in   truth.     Christ   is   infinite 
love ;  and  no  man  can  have  his  mind,  and  be  actuated  by 
his  spirit,  without  seeking  to  benefit  his  fellow-creatures. 
No  man  can  have  the  love  of  God  in  his  heart,  and  not  be 
kind  and  gentle,  even  to  the  lower  animals,  which  were 
given  us  to  assist  in  subduing  the  earth.     Such  a  man  may 
be   crossed   and   plagued   and   persecuted;    but   he  has  a 


176  A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP. 

spring  of  happiness  within  him,  which  yields  a  sovereign 
balm  for  all  the  ills  and  sorrows  of  this  life. 

216.  If,  therefore,  it  would  be  a  pleasure  and  a  comfort 
to  the  sailor  to  be  the  recipient  of  the  greatest  of  earthly 
blessings,  and  placed  in  harmony  with  nature,  how  much 
more  would  it  give  joy  and  happiness  to  every  true  child 
of  God  to  know  that  he  had  been  the  means  of  blessing  a 
fellow-mortal,  and   saving   him  from,  perhaps,  moral   and 
spiritual  death !     Wisdom  declares  that  "  it  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive."     Human  philosophy,  unaided  by 
light  from  Heaven,  cannot  compass  this  proposition ;  but  it 
is  nevertheless  true.     Good  received  frequently  gives  no 
pleasure.     Good  done  to  others  causes  our  cups  to  run  over. 

217.  Let,  then,  all  religious  denominations,  as  well  as  all 
political  parties,  unite  their  efforts  to  do  this  thing.     All 
are  interested  in  many  ways ;  and  we  should  almost  wonder 
what  reasons  any  body  of  men  could  give  for  opposition, 
save  the  one  against  extra  taxation.     Who  is  there  that 
would  not  befriend  the  sailor?     Who  can  bear  to  see  him 
so  miserably  degraded  and  enslaved  by  such  a  multitude  of 
perverted  appetites  and  passions  ?     Who  would  not  try  to 
save  him  from  sins  that  have  been  almost  forced  upon 
him,  and  disclose  to  his  enraptured  gaze  the  beauty  of  holi- 
ness  reflected  by   the    light   from   heaven  ?      Almost   all 
denominations  of  Christians  have   representatives   among 
seamen  :  arid  many  of  them  contribute  quite  large  sums  to 
sustain  bethels  and  other  institutions  for  the  moral  and 
spiritual  improvement  of  the  sailor.     They  are  worthy  of 
great  credit  for  what  they  have  done  ;  and  most,  if  not  all, 
of  their  efforts  to  do  good  have  been  crowned  with  success. 
Far  be  it  from  us  to  disparage  any  of  their  works :  they 
were  all  done  in  good  faith,  and  were  eminently  useful  and 
proper.     But  yet  we  cannot  help  thinking  there  is  a  more 
excellent  way,  —  "a  way  that  no  fowl  knoweth,  and  which 
the  vulture's  eye  hath  not  seen." 


A  VOICE  FEOM   THE   DEEP.  177 

218.  When  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  was  first  published, 
many  honest  and  thoughtful  people  seemed  to  think,  that, 
as  a  literary  work,  it  was  too  sentimental ;  and  some  pre- 
dicted that  it  would  breed  mischief  and  discord  in  the 
country  by  "plentifully  declaring  the  thing  as  it  was," 
without  even  suggesting  how  the  evils  enumerated  might 
be  removed.  Such  a  criticism  did  not  give  the  average 
popular  mind  credit  for  a  very  great  degree  of  intelligence 
and  penetration ;  but  subsequent  events  have  shown  most 
conclusively  that  the  prescience  of  those  critics  was  accu- 
rate and  well  timed;  for  if  a  well-digested  and  practicable 
scheme  of  emancipation,  bearing  on  all  alike,  had  been  kept 
Constantly  in  the  foreground  from  the  time  the  slavery 
question  was  first  agitated,  it  is  possible  the  country  might 
have  avoided  that  heaviest  of  all  calamities, — a  terrible 
war  between  blood  relations.  None  can  offer  any  such 
objection  to  the  publication  of  the  present  work.  It  is  not 
our  design  to  create  indignation  and  prejudice  against  any 
class  of  our  fellow-men,  not  even  the  runners,  but  rather  to 
elevate  and  save  them.  And,  with  this  end  in  view,  we 
have  steadily  brought  our  remedies  along  with  us,  and  feel 
that  we  can  confidently  recommend  them  to  the  public  as 
eminently  practicable,  just,  and  useful.  The  few  remarks 
we  have  oifered  against  the  devotees  of  fashion,  selfishness, 
and  Mammon,  are  of  the  most  general  character;  and  no 
one  need  put  on  the  coat  unless  it  fits  him. 

The  Church  of  Christ  and  all  benevolent  societies  should 
fully  comprehend  and  realize  this  one  great  truth;  namely, 
that  as  a  general  rule,  admitting  of  but  few  excep- 
tions, the  moral  and  spiritual  condition  of  any  class  of 
men  cannot  be  much  improved  while  they  are  burdened 
with  physical  disabilities.  A  man's  first  thoughts  are 
about  his  earthly  well-being;  and  not  until  that,  or  a  pretty 
certain  prospect  of  it,  is  secured,  can  he  be  wrought  upon 


178  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

efficiently  by  the  most  pungent  means  of  grace,  or  be  made 
to  look  for  happiness  in  spiritual  joys  and  prospects.  Men 
in  a  state  of  bondage  will  contemplate  their  own  miseries, 
and  cannot  be  made  to  look  away  from  and  disregard  the 
causes  of  all  their  pains  and  torments.  The  fact  that  many 
are  converted  on  sick-beds,  and  brought  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross  by  trouble,  does  not  militate  against  this  general  rule 
when  it  is  rightly  understood. 

219.  The  Church,  then,  nor  the  nation,  has  no  right  to 
expect  that  sailors,  as  a  class,  will  ever  be  much  improved, 
until  some   means  are  devised  to  keep  them  from  being 
almost  forced  to  break  Nature's  laws.     It  will  never  do  for 
church-members  and  philanthropists  to  tell  seamen  to  be 
warmed  and  filled  with  spiritual  things,  and  then  sit  them- 
selves down  in  their  warm,  comfortable  homes,  and  ask 
God's  blessing  over  fat  turkeys  and  geese  on  Thanksgiving 
Days.     No  :  not  at  all !     The  poor  sailor  has  rarely  a  sab- 
bath that  he  can  call  his  own ;  and,  as  for  turkeys  and 
geese,  they  exist  only  in   his  imagination,  being  wholly 
mental  food  for  the  sailor.     How  would  it  look  for  the  peo- 
ple of  God  to  repair  to  their  churches  on  that  eventful  day 
of  rejoicing,  and  thank  and  bless  the  "  Father  of  all "  that 
they  were  so  much  better  off  than  the  vile  and  miserable 
vagabonds  that  were  ploughing  salt  water,  and  close  the 
services  by  singing,  "The  temple  of  the  Lord!      The  tem- 
ple of  the  Lord  are  we  ! "     It  would  be  more  inconsistent 
than  it  would  have  been  in  olden  time  to  have  seen  the 
Rev.  Cotton  Mather  riding  into  Salem,  — 

"  With  the  witch  behind  him." 

220.  The  great  conflagration  which  has  recently  hap- 
pened in  one  of  the  largest  of  our  Western  cities  causes 
the  floods  of  sympathy  to  run  that  way  in  an  un inter- 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE    DEEP.  179 

rupted  stream.  A  hundred  thousand  people  homeless,  hun- 
gry, and  some  of  them  almost  naked,  is  a  spectacle  which 
the  active  benevolence  that  characterizes  the  present  time 
will  not  long  endure.  Every  one  will  be  ready  to  contrib- 
ute something  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers;  and  all  will 
deeply  deplore  the  lives  and  property  lost  by  the  terrible 
calamity.  Why,  then,  are  not  suffering  and  homelessness 
recognized  on  the  broad  and  boundless  ocean,  where  they 
have  existed  for  centuries  ?  Some  false  oracle  may  say 
that  there  is  no  parallel  between  the  two  cases,  and  that 
sailors  are  already  as  well  off  as  any  other  class  of  men  in 
the  country ;  but  no  sentient  beings,  except  those  allied  to 
the  moles  and  the  bats,  will  for  a  moment  believe  it. 

221.  Some  men  regard  the  seamen's  cause  as  they  would 
a  chronic  disease.  If  a  person  is  afflicted  with  a  disorder 
which  gives  him  pain,  he  flies  at  once  to  the  physician  for 
something  to  relieve  him  ;  but  a  painless  chronic  complaint, 
of  which  the  acute  disorder  may  be  but  a  symptom,  is  suf- 
fered to  lurk  in  the  system,  and  sap  the  foundations  of  life, 
for  years  without  exciting  any  alarm.  An  acute  symptom 
was  the  principal  thing  that  killed  African  slavery  by  con- 
vulsions, and  not  a  wide-spread  and  intelligent  appreciation 
of  the  evils  which  were  the  natural  consequences  of  its 
existence.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  a  time  has  at 
last  arrived  in  the  history  of  the  world,  in  which  at  least 
some  persons  have  views  of  Truth  perfect  enough  to  see 
that  she  is  altogether  lovely,  and  worthy  of  the  most  im- 
plicit confidence,  even  if  she  declares  to  be  wisdom  things 
which  are  diametrically  opposite  to  the  maxims  and  prac- 
tices of  those  who  are  rightly  esteemed  the  men  of  this 
world.  Selfishness  would  bid  us  cease  from  pursuing  the 
rugged  path  which  leads  up  the  midst  of  the  Hill  of  Diffi- 
culty towards  the  Celestial  Gate,  and  turn  us  aside  into  by- 
path meadows,  where  Ease  spreads  couches  of  repose.  She 


180  A  VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP. 

would  delude  us  with  lying  vanities,  until,  intoxicated  with 
earthly  pleasures,  and  poisoned  by  the  bread  of  deceit,  we 
should  find  our  hearts  ravished  of  all  goodness ;  and  then  she 
would  abandon  us  to  the  loathsome  and  inhospitable  clutches 
of  Diffidence  and  Despair.  Not  so  Truth:  she  would  con- 
duct us  along  the  strait  and  narrow  path,  steep  though  it 
might  be,  and  never  let  go  our  hands  until  we  had  reached 
the  •  mountain-tops  above  the  clouds,  and  far  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  storms  of  this  world.  She  would  conduct  us 
to  higher  pleasures  than  those  of  sense,  and  never  forsake 
us  throughout  all  the  countless  ages  of  eternitj7.  There  are 
now  many  noble  spirits,  led  by  Truth,  and  assisted  by 
Faith,  pursuing  the  narrow  way  ;  and,  from  the  lofty  heights 
to  which  many  of  them  have  already  attained,  they  can 
doubtless  see  that  no  man  was  ever  yet  ill  paid  for  serving 
goodness.  They  can  see  that  a  blessing  will  inevitably  fall 
on  the  heads  of  those  who  are  willing  to  stay  up  the  hands 
of  Truth,  Charity,  and  Justice,  while  they  are  trying  to 
bless  the  sailor. 

222.  When  congressmen  are  called  upon  to  consider  the 
claims  of  the  sailor,  let  them  try  to  imagine  themselves  in 
his  condition,  and  reflect  seriously  on  the  superlative  wretch- 
edness of  those  who  have  to  wander  their  whole  lives  upon 
the  stormy  ocean,  without  homes,  wives,  children,  friends, 
or  privileges.  Lit  them,  think  hoia  they  would  like  to  have 
their  own  wayes  regulated  upon  the  basts  of  celibacy,  and 
their  wants  supplied  according  to  the  cheapest  devices  ever 
contrived  by  the  disciples  of  Mammon  to  keep  body  and 
soul  together  long  enough  to  make  a  sea-voyage.  If  Con- 
gress should  make  a  law  forbidding  two  hundred  thousand 
people  in  some  section  of  the  country  the  right  and  privi- 
lege of  making  any  matrimonial  contracts,  the  whole  civil- 
ized world  would  be  aroused ;  and  exclamations  of  horror 
and  denunciations  of  our  government  would  proceed  from 


A  VOICE   FROM  THE  DEEP.  181 

every  tongue  in  every  land.  Yet  there  is  a  law  made, 
and  rigidly  enforced,  which  prevents  our  seamen  from 
marrying,  or  thinking  of  it :  it  is  the  hard,  stern,  and  un- 
mitigalle  law  of  necessity. 

223.  If,  after  all  that  has  been  said,  there  shall  still  re- 
main a  large  number  of  our  citizens  like  doubting  Thomas, 
we  would  recommend  for  them  to  take  all  the  facts  con- 
nected with  the  sailor's  true  condition,  and  see  if  they  can 
elaborate  a  scheme  of  improvement  that  will  be  more  eco- 
nomical, expedient,  and  practicable.     We  have   done  our 
best,  and  feel  satisfied  with  the  result;  but,  if  any  one  can, 
do  better,  we  will  gladly  defer  to  him,  and  assist  him  to 
the  best  of  our  ability.     We  trust,  however,  that  there  is 
no  one  so  sceptical  as  to  conclude  that  nothing  should  be 
done  ;  and  we  feel  confident,  that,  if  inquiry  is  once  awak- 
ened, we  can  hope  to  be  guided  in  our  efforts  by  the  expe- 
rience, wisdom,  and  judgment  of  hundreds  that  have  demon- 
strated, by  their  words  and  actions  and  public  services,  that 
they  are  well  qualified  to  act  as  leaders  and  advisers  in  this 
or  in  any  other  matter  connected  with  the  happiness  and 
well-being  of  any  portion  of  the  human  race. 

224.  If  there  are  no\v  any  noble  men  and  women  who 
are  willing  to  engage  in  this  work,  they  can  be  sure  of  one 
thing;  and  that  is,  they  will  have  God  on  their  side.     It  is 
his   will,   revealed   in   his  Word,   that  the  salvation  and 
enfranchisement  of  seamen  shall  be  an . accomplished  fact; 
and  ultimately  some  plaiv  must  and  will  be  adopted  to  save 
them.     None  that  take  up  this  cause  will,  therefore,  labor 
in  vain;  for  they  will  have  their  fortunes  linked  with  One 
who  has   declared  that  he  will  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged 
"until  he  has  set  judgment  in  the  earth."     Christ  died  for 
sailors  as  much   as  for  any  other  class  of  men ;   and  they 
must  be  saved  in  order  that  he  may  see  of  the  travail  of  his 
soul,  and  be  satisfied.     We  read,  that,  in  one  case,  our 


182  A  VOICE  FROM   THE  DEEP. 

Saviour  stood  still,  and  commanded  a  man  to  be  brought. 
He  now  commands  his  true  disciples  to  bring  to  him  the 
sailor,  in  such  a  condition  that  he  can  be  cured  of  all  the 
evil  diseases  with  which  he  is  afflicted. 

225.  How  it  ought  to  make  the  hearts  of  all  good  people 
rejoice  to  know  that  they  can  work  with   Christ  in  this 
matter!     We  shall  be  "more  than  conquerors  through  him 
that  loved  us."     We  must  grapple  with  all  the  difficulties 
manfully,  and  they  will  not  oppose  us  long.     The  moments 
of  victory  will  richly  compensate  us  for  all  the  trials  we 
may  have  to  undergo.     We  see  before  us  a  poor,  houseless, 
homeless,  wifeless,  childless,  joyless,  suffering  outcast  from 
society,  desiring  to  be  fed  with  some  of  the  crumbs  which 
fall  from  our  national  table  of  Thanksgiving,  and  shall  we 
spurn  him  away?     God  has  winked  at  our  ignorance  in  the 
times  that  are  past ;  but  he  now  commands  all  men  every- 
where to  go  work  to-day  in  his  vineyard,  and  bring  forth 
fruits  meet  for  repentance.     If  we  would  have  Abraham 
for  our  father,  we  must  do  the  works  of  Abraham. 

226.  What  has  now  been  said  we  would  commit  to  the 
God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  hoping  that  it  may  prove 
instrumental  in  bringing  to  the  sources  of  life  and  light 
great   multitudes    from    that   long-neglected    and    much- 
abused  class  of  men  "  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  and 
do  business  upon  the  great  waters."     He  is  able  to  bring 
light  out  of  darkness;  and  he  has  promised  to  fulfil  the 
desires  of  those  that  fear  him, — of  those  that  hope  in  his 
mercy.     The  Spirit  of  holiness  will   give  his  assistance  in 
quickening  the  hearts  of  all  God's  people,  and  prepare  them 
to  help  forward  the  good  work,  which  must  be  accomplished 
in  due  season.     Let  all  the  people  help  in  this  matter.     Let 
them  take  delight  in  placing  the  sailor  in  a  position,  and 
showing  him  how  to  live,  so   that  the   greatest   possible 
amount  of  good  shall  accrue  to  society,  to  his  family,  and  to 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 


183 


himself,  from  all  his  thoughts,  words,  and  actions.  The 
Spirit  and  the  Bride  saith  come,  and  the  results  will  all 
be  for  that  pure  and  spotless  Being  who  laid  down  his  life 
to  save  us,  when  we,  like  the  sailors,  needed  help,  and  whom 
the  Scriptures  and  our  own  hearts  declare  to  be  the  Son 
of  God.  May  the  work  be  done  quickly  "  while  the  day 
lasts,"  lest  the  Spirit  leave  us  in  darkness,  and  make  his 
appeal  to  some  other  nation ! 


INVOCATION. 


GREAT  GOD  of  wisdom,  truth,  and  love, 
Stoop  down,  and  lift  us  far  above 
All  earthly  ways  and  human  pride, 
And  make  our  thoughts  with  thcc  abide. 

May  Wisdom  to  our  souls  appear, 
And  Truth  make  all  our  vision  clear! 
May  heavenly  Love  her  charms  reveal, 
And  give  us  grace  her  woes  to  feel ! 

She  points  where  Adam's  wayward  race 
Arc  all  defiled  by  Sin's  embrace: 
She  grieves  to  see  her  children  fall, 
And  quench  their  raging  thirst  with  gall. 

In  every  land,  on  every  tide, 
She  sees  Temptation  scattering  wide 
The  seeds  of  Death,  which  imps  of  Sin 
Prepare  for  Lusts  to  harrow  in. 

Intemperance  feeds  with  foul  delight 
Kadi  sin-perverted  appetite; 
And  oft  the  human  form  divine 
Lies  grovelling  in  the  dust  like  swine. 

The  sword  of  Lust,  the  tyrant's  chain, 
Are  oft  resisted  quite  in  vain  ; 
And  pal i id  Misery's  piercing  wail 
Is  wafted  wide  in  every  gale. 


184 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  185 

'Tis  true  that  seers  accounted  wise 
Have  patched  up  ways  for  man  to  rise; 
But,  ah !  how  vain  is  all  conceit, 
Compared  with  trust  at  Wisdom's  feet ! 

The  best  devices  man  e'er  gave 
Have  ne'er  sufficed  a  soul  to  save; 
And  all  his  schemes  his  skill  to  prove 
Give  anguish  to  the  heart  of  Love. 

She  sees  religion  linked  with  hate, — 
The  agents  used  to  guide  the  State ; 
And  kings  and  senates  all  agree 
To  spite  and  fraud  and  perjury. 

The  way  of  man  is  marked  with  blood, 

And  tears  run  down  it  like  a  flood ; 

But  still  earth's  sages  all  proclaim 

'Tis  freedom's  road,  and  leads  to  fame.  (209) 

O  Lord  !  how  long  shall  these  things  be  ? 
How  long  shall  Truth  from  Malice  flee? 
Shall  tyrants  rage  on  every  shore, 
And  gorge  their  glutted  fangs  with  gore  ? 

Be  still,  my  soul,  and  give  thy  trust 
To  Him  who  weighs  the  mountain's  dust: 
To  Him  who  made  the  land  and  sea 
Should  all  in  silence  bend  the  knee. 

'Tis  not  for  puny,  glow-worm  men 
The  vast  designs  of  God  to  ken ; 
Nor  think  to  weigh  his  counsels  wise 
In  scales  which  human  minds  devise. 

The  fire-flies'  flash  which  light  the  ground 
Night's  sable  curtains  all  surround : 
So  earthly  wisdom  stands  by  guess, 
And  leans  on  props  of  foolishness. 

But  thy  blcjt  Spirit  teaches  still 
That  God  fis  words  shall  all  fulfil ; 
16* 


186  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

And  though  earth  needs  the  sunshine  bright, 
Yet  flowers  and  plants  grow  in  the  night. 

Still,  Lord,  we  know  that  thou  art  kind, 
And  wilt  regard  the  humble  mitid  : 
Let  wisdom  to  our  thoughts  suggest 
Thy  ways  and  means  to  make  us  blest. 

Give  us  to  see  and  know  and  feel 
What  best  shall  serve  for  human  weal ; 
And  if,  perchance,  our  views  are  right, 
Please  give  us  grace  in  honor's  sight. 

We  know  that  Jesus  left  his  throne 
To  tread  the  wine-press  all  alone ; 
And  through  the  long,  dark  ages  past 
The  saints  their  bread  on  waters  cast. 

Tremendous  conflicts,  crimes,  and  blood 
Have  scourged  the  earth  e'er  since  the  flood ; 
But  still  thy  caijse  is  gaining  ground, 
And  fruits  of  grace  do  still  abound. 

But  now,  O  Lord  !  thy  saints  arc  strong, 
And  freemen's  rights  to  men  belong: 
Cannot  grim  War  his  carnage  cease, 
And  plants  of  truth  be  nursed  by  peace?  (211) 

If  man's  proud  wrath  must  speak  thy  praise, 
And  malice  delve  on  wisdom's  ways, 
Shall  not  the  gifts  thy  loved  ones  bring 
Make  all  the  hosts  of  angels  sing  1  (212) 

We  know  thy  fairest  children  eat 
This  strong,  substantial  gospel  meat; 
But  weakly  lambs  in  thee  confide, 
And  only  yet  can  milk  abide.  (213) 

Oh,  may  thy  holy  peaceful  Dove 
With  brooding  notes  allure  to  love 
The  half-fledged  offspring  of  the  skies, 
And  give  them  wings  of  faith  to  rise ! 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP.  187 

Then  may  they  mount,  and  soar  away 
Where  wisdom  sheds  eternal  day ; 
And  learn  that  prayers  are  answered  sweet 
By  toiling  hands  and  willing  feet!  (210-141) 

Give  them  to  see  and  feel  and  know 

What  sinners  have  to  undergo ; 

And  help  them  in  their  arms  to  bring 

Bright  sheaves  to  heaven's  eternal  King.  (214) 

Great  God,  we  bring  before  thee  norw 
Those  men  that  stormy  seas  do  plough  ; 
And,  oh !  we  pray  our  hearts  may  feel 
While  they  to  us  their  woes  reveal. 

They  leave  our  homes  for  many  a  shore, 
And  mighty  tempests  round  them  roar : 
Through  weary  nights  they  vigils  keep 
Along  the  restless,  rolling  deep. 

Exposed  to  shipwrecks,  toils,  .and  pain, 
They  steer  their  barks  across  the  main, 
And  bless  mankind  on  every  shore 
With  useful  goods,  a  plenteous  store. 

What  scenes  at  sea,  in  winters  bleak, 
No  human  tongue  can  frame  to  speak ! 
But  still  our  venturesome  seamen  sign 
Their  names  to  cross  the  freezing  brine. 

But  ah !  the  mighty  waves  that  roll 
From  arctic  regions  near  the  pole 
Bring  not  the  worst  of  seamen's  woes, 
Nor  chill  their  hearts  like  human  foes. 

In  robes  designed  to  clothe  mankind,  (3) 
Cold,  senseless  sharks  an  ambush  find;  (14) 
And  through  each  street,  poor  Jack  to  greet, 
They  roam,  professing  friendship  sweet. 

They  proffer  pleasure,  joy,  and  love, 
Names  sweet  to  hear  to  saints  above; 


188  A  VOICE  FROM  THE  DEEP. 

And  soon  the  sailor  yields  his  heart ; 
For  gems  like  these  must  bliss  impart. 

His  generous  soul  intrusts  his  friends 
With  nil  his  cash  to  make  amends  (16) 
For  what  appears  affection  sweet, 
But  which,  alas  !  is  counterfeit. 

Allured  by  Sin's  delusive  power, 

Poor  seamen  sleep  in  Folly's  bower; 

And,  ere  they  wake  to  Reason's  call, 

The  sharks  have  gulped  and  swallowed  all.  (14) 

'Tis  then  they  feel  that  sirens  sing 

To  make  remorseful  conscience  sting;  (18) 

And,  now  their  dream  of  bliss  is  o'er, 

They'll  plough  the  seas  to  sin  no  more.  (19-22) 

'Tis  thus  that  seamen  tempt  in  vain 
The  racing  billows  of  the  main  :  (18) 
They  spend  their  days  with  fright  and  care, 
But  fruits  of  love  they  never  share. 

O  Lord,  may  all  thy  children  rise, 
And  judgments  right  and  true  devise  ! 
May  seamen's  wrongs  all  lips  repeat, 
Till  justice  crowns  the  mercy-seat ! 

May  every  creature,  great  and  small, 
Give  heed  to  freedom's  earnest  call, 
And  rouse  the  nation's  peers  to  take 
Due  means  the  sailors'  yoke  to  break. 

Oh,  how  can  men,  and  ladies  fair, 
Refuse  the  gifts  of  heaven  to  share 
With  sons  of  want  and  poverty, 
And  think  to  dwell  with  luxury! 

How  can  they  bear  to  see  and  hear 
Pale  Misery  plead  the  scalding  tear 
Which  shuts  the  light  from  Sorrow's  eye, 
And  drains  Affection's  fountain  dry. 


A  VOICE  FROM  THE   DEEP.  189 

The  homeless  sailor  ploughs  the  seas, 
While  rogues  in  mansions  live  at  ease. 
In  toils  for  them  he  spends  his  life ; 
And  yet  they  say,  "  He  needs  no  wife." 

If  truth  and  justice  e'er  suggest 

That  gold  might  make  poor  seamen  blest, 

These  selfish  mortals  idly  prate 

Of  ruin's  schemes  in  Mammon's  gate.  (156) 

Great  God  !  control  the  human  will, 
And  all  such  senseless  clamors  still : 
Let  not  the  miser's  plea  prevail, 
Lest  myriads  more  their  woes  bewail. 

When  nations  rise  as  God  commands, 
To  hreak  accursed  slavery's  bands, 
He'll  give  them  means  to  do  his  will, 
And  all  their  best  desires  fulfil.  (214) 

Let  all  our  virtuous  freemen  give 
Poor  outraged  seamen  means  to  live, 
And  find  them  cause  without  delay, 
To  shout,  "  Long  live  America  !  "  (154) 

Our  nation  then  shall  dwell  with  peace, 
And  God  shall  give  us  large  increase ; 
For  those  that  list  to  wisdom's  call, 
And  mend  their  ways,  shall  never  fall.  (216) 

When  God  shall  seamen's  wants  relieve, 
And  every  heart  shall  cease  to  grieve, 
We'll  praise  the  Lamb  for  sinners  slain, 
And  send  his  gospel  o'er  the  main.  (105) 

STRICKLAND. 


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